 WSS appoints HR Director in Singapore to drive long-term investment in trainingWilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has appointed Adrian Lau as Regional Human Resources and Organisation Development Director, Asia Pacific, with a focus on driving the company’s performance culture, talent management, and training and development.
Singapore is one of the world’s leading maritime industry centres but is facing challenges in attracting and retaining the staff needed to maintain this position. The Lion City is also critical to the WSS safety service business, which is growing at a rate of 15% per year.
A combination of aging workforce and the need to recruit 20-25 safety service technicians over the next three to five years has prompted WSS to build capacity in its own training resources. Adrian says that maintaining profitability at a time of rising costs requires the company to invest in people and upgrade skills.
“We need to make sure we have the right talent to do the job well, hire the right candidates and invest in their development as they take on different projects and roles,” he says.
“The apprenticeship programme we have in Singapore is a good example of how we hire people from various backgrounds to undergo a structured programme to demonstrate the required proficiencies before going on to more complex and challenging work. It is also a process that helps to identify talents that can be developed through the organisation.”
“Apart from Singapore, the same training programme is available in Shanghai to cater for the demands in Northern Asia,” Adrian further explains.
“We take pride in our people across all business units. At the group level, we have a team of experts who design and implement training programmes and leadership development courses. We work closely with them to develop programs that cater for local needs.”
With 15 years in Human Resources, Adrian brings extensive experience to the Asia Pacific region. He was previously Human Resources Director in Tyco Fire Protection Products, overseeing all HR aspects in Asia Pacific, with a strong focus on driving strategic people investments and ensuring performance and a value-driven culture. Before Tyco Fire Protection Products, he was the HR Business Partner at Rolls Royce Marine, Asia Pacific.
Adrian says he is excited to be back in the maritime industry and is looking forward to working in challenging market conditions and see the role as an opportunity to optimise resources and employees in the most effective manner.
“Our success is our people. The knowledge they possess and quality of service they provide to the customer is critical and this can only be driven by a high performing culture where staff are equipped with the competence to do their job well.”
Photo: Adrian Lau, the Regional Human Resources and Organisation Development Director, Asia Pacific
For further information, contact:
Joanne Lan, Marketing Comms Manager Region AsiaPac
(+86) 21 6086 3952
Twitter: @wssnetwork
2014-12-19
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Please see Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) company electronic office For further information, contact:
Ole Jakob Ytterdal
Head of Communications
Wilhelmsen Ships Service
Tel: +47 67 58 40 00
Mobile: +47 97 08 83 62
ole.j.ytterdal@wilhelmsen.com
Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) is part of Wilhelmsen Maritime Services, a Wilh. Wilhelmsen group company. It has the world’s largest maritime services network, with 4,500 marine professionals servicing 2,200 ports in 125 countries.
Wilhelmsen Ships Service supplies safety products and services, Unitor products, Unicool refrigerants, Unitor and Nalfleet marine chemicals, maritime logistics and ships agency to the maritime industry. Last year the company made product deliveries to 25,000 vessels and handled 70, 000 port calls.
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