Canon Singapore (Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd.) has entered into a strategic partnership with Temasek Polytechnic to enhance the professional development of security personnel in Singapore. This partnership, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), was signed and witnessed by Ms. Sun Xueling, Minister of State for the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Social and Family Development, during the Security Industry Conference 2024. As a result of this partnership, a new STEC at Temasek Polytechnic will be erected.
Scheduled to become operational in Q3 2025, the STEC will be an innovative training place that truly immerses and hands-on trains the current and future security professional with the needed skills to deal with the ever-changing landscape of the security industry.
The Asia Pacific security services market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2% between 2023 and 2030, a trend that will be driven by the growing needs for advanced security services in commercial as well as governmental sectors. Partners Canon Singapore and Temasek Polytechnic will collaborate in creating a prime education facility that is set to take an important position in progressing Singapore's security workforce and contributing generally to a greater regional security ecosystem. Furthermore, the STEC is expected to be open to both local and international visitors to foster an exchange of ideas towards encouraging the adoption of cutting-edge security technologies.
According to Mr. Norihiro Katagiri, Senior Vice President of Canon Singapore, "this is where this strategic partnership means even more for Canon: for building a smarter, safer future with the power of advanced surveillance technologies. This is also a partnership of the skills gap in the fast-evolving security industry, aiming at cultivating a highly skilled workforce to create safer environments through emerging technologies.".
Mr. Katagiri further elaborated that the new STEC would not only serve as a training facility but would also cultivate synergy among industry leaders, academia, and governmental entities and encourage the stakeholders to shape the future of security in Singapore and beyond.
Specialized training programs for mid-career security professionals will also be developed under the initiative and through Temasek Polytechnic's Continuing Education and Training (CET) upskilling initiatives, which have already seen over 30,000 enrollments in its CET programs. The collaboration will help fulfill the need for more skilled security professionals with a special focus on security officers, who are the most coveted job vacancies in Singapore year after year.
To Mr. Aw Tuan Kee, Deputy Principal, Temasek Polytechnic, this partnership marks a major achievement in the advancement of security technology training programs. In his words, " The partnership, while strengthening capabilities on the individual level, is also developed to respond to the changing requirements of the security industry." He added that he hopes the partnership with the launch of the STEC in 2025 will facilitate the sharing of crucial knowledge and promote innovative security solutions to both local and global communities and businesses.
Canon Singapore will be the key consultant for developing the STEC under the MOU and work in conjunction with its key partner companies such as Axis Communications, BriefCam, and Milestone Systems, to deliver an integrated suite of security solutions-their cutting-edge cameras, software-based intelligent video analytics, and robust video management systems.
With all of this together, the collaboration will enhance the capabilities of a new STEC that can support, through world-class training environments, security personnel, mid-career professionals, and students at Temasek Polytechnic to equip them with the skills and knowledge to respond to real-world complexities in security systems.
This strategic MOU between Canon Singapore and Temasek Polytechnic definitely marks a new phase in security technology training and workforce development, hinting at possible future collaborations and innovations in the security sector.