Role Purpose
Lead the organization's technical capability development agenda to build a future-ready engineering and manufacturing workforce aligned with business growth, technology evolution, and emerging skill requirements.
The role is responsible for developing enterprise-wide technical learning strategies, strengthening technical competencies, designing capability-building frameworks, building industry-academia partnerships, and creating sustainable talent pipelines for current and future business needs.
The position is envisaged as a key capability-building leadership role that will help establish the foundation for a future Engineering Academy and drive technical workforce readiness across the organization.
Role Context
- Leads enterprise-wide technical capability development initiatives.
- Responsible for technical skilling, workforce readiness, competency development, curriculum architecture, and future-skills development.
- Works closely with business leaders, engineering leaders, HRBPs, functional heads, and external academic partners.
- Drives capability development for engineering, manufacturing, project management, quality, digital, and specialist functions.
- Establishes technical learning frameworks, certification pathways, university partnerships, and talent development ecosystems.
- Acts as the custodian of the organization's technical capability-building strategy..
Key Accountabilities
Technical Capability Strategy & Workforce Readiness
- Develop and execute enterprise-wide technical capability development strategy aligned with business and technology roadmaps.
- Identify current and future capability requirements across engineering, manufacturing, project management, quality, and specialist functions.
- Establish capability-development roadmaps to support workforce readiness and business growth.
- Build competency frameworks and capability progression pathways for critical technical roles.
Curriculum Architecture & Learning Frameworks
- Design enterprise-wide technical learning architectures, curricula, and capability-development frameworks.
- Develop role-based learning journeys and certification pathways for engineers, specialists, and technical professionals.
- Create structured learning frameworks for campus trainees and early-career talent.
- Benchmark best practices and continuously enhance technical learning methodologies.
Campus Talent Development
- Design and institutionalize structured development programs for Graduate Engineer Trainees (GETs) and other entry-level technical talent.
- Ensure campus trainees are effectively prepared for deployment into business-critical roles.
- Develop technical training pathways, assessments, and readiness frameworks aligned to organizational requirements.
- Partner with business leaders to continuously refine trainee development programs.
Learning Operations & Delivery
- Manage internal and external training delivery programs.
- Oversee learning calendars, learning platforms, and training infrastructure.
- Ensure effective deployment of virtual and classroom learning solutions.
- Monitor training quality and learning adoption.
Employee Upskilling & Future Skills Development
- Design and drive enterprise-wide technical upskilling initiatives in emerging technologies and future skills.
- Develop programs to address niche capability requirements and critical skill gaps.
- Establish specialist development pathways and certification-led learning interventions.
- Support workforce transformation through continuous technical capability enhancement.
Industry-Academia Partnerships & Talent Pipeline Development
- Establish strategic partnerships with universities, engineering institutions, research centres, and industry bodies.
- Engage with academic leaders, deans, faculty members, and researchers to co-create industry-relevant curricula and specialized programs.
- Build strong talent pipelines for critical and niche technical skills.
- Drive collaborative initiatives, industry-academia projects, internships, and future-skills programs.
- Leverage academic partnerships to strengthen organizational capability and workforce readiness.
Capability Analytics & Effectiveness
- Monitor technical capability KPIs and workforce readiness measures.
- Assess effectiveness and impact of capability-development initiatives.
- Develop dashboards and analytics to track capability maturity and skill development outcomes.
- Identify capability gaps and recommend improvement interventions.
Team Leadership
- Lead teams responsible for technical capability development and workforce readiness initiatives.
- Build internal expertise in curriculum design, competency frameworks, and capability-building methodologies.
- Foster a culture of continuous technical learning and professional growth.
Key Interfaces
Internal
Business & Functional Leaders (Business Heads, Functional Heads, HRBPs/Location HR Heads) – Capability requirements, Workforce development priorities, Future skills and talent planning.
Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality & Project Functions - Technical competency requirements, Capability-building interventions, Workforce readiness programs
External
Universities, Institutes & Certification Bodies – Curriculum co-creation, Industry-academia partnerships, Talent pipeline development
Industry Bodies & Certification Organizations– Technical certifications, Future-skills development, Specialist capability-building initiatives
Critical Competencies
Functional Competencies
Technical Capability Development, Curriculum Design & Architecture, Competency Framework Development, Engineering Talent Development, Workforce Capability Planning, Industry-Academia Collaboration, Technical Learning Strategy, Future Skills Development, Certification Framework Design, University Partnership Management, Learning Analytics & Capability Assessment
Leadership Competencies
Strategic Thinking, Stakeholder Management, Influencing Skills, Change Leadership, Communication Skills, Partnership Building
Behavioral Competencies
Ownership & Accountability, Learning Agility, Collaboration, Results Orientation, Innovation Orientation, Continuous Improvement
Experience
- 10-15 years of experience in Technical Learning & Development, Capability Development, Engineering Talent Development, Workforce Development, or Technical Academy environments.
- Minimum 5 years in a leadership role involving capability-building or technical workforce development initiatives.
- Demonstrated experience in curriculum design, competency framework development, and technical capability-building programs.
- Strong experience engaging with universities, academic institutions, research organizations, and industry bodies.
- Experience in engineering, manufacturing, electronics, aerospace, defence, industrial technology, or related sectors preferred.
- Proven track record in designing technical talent pipelines and future-skills development initiatives.
Academic Qualifications
Essential
- Bachelor's Degree in Engineering.
Preferred
- Master's Degree in Engineering, Technology Management, Business Administration, or related discipline.
- Certifications in Learning & Development, Competency Management, Capability Development, Instructional Design, or Talent Development.
Ideal Candidate Profile
- Strong experience in technical capability development, curriculum architecture, and workforce readiness programs.
- Demonstrated success in designing competency frameworks and structured technical development pathways.
- Proven ability to build and manage industry-academia partnerships and engage with university leadership.
- Experience in identifying emerging skill requirements and developing future-focused technical capability programs.
- Focused on training strategy, curriculum design, talent pipeline development, and capability-building frameworks rather than training delivery or facilitation.
