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This is What a HTA Officer Looks Like

A passion for learning – that's what unites the dedicated officers of the Home Team Academy.
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GRAPHIC: Jade Tan

You know them as our Home Team Guardians, working hard 24/7 to keep Singapore safe and secure. In our GUARDIANS photo series, we hear their personal stories, told from the heart. 


Established in 2006, the Home Team Academy (HTA) develops Home Team leaders, trainers and officers to excel and drive transformation. As we learnt, this passion for learning is very much shared by the HTA community. Here are their stories. 

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PHOTOS: Jade Tan
 
DEDICATED TO LEARNING
Ricky Eu, 45
Deputy Director, Cross Cutting Skills; Centre for Home Team Skills Transformation


“My work involves equipping Home Team officers with cross-cutting skills such as data analytics, cyber-security, design thinking, behavioural insights and so on. 

“I also work on academic accreditation for our courses. We collaborate closely with the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) on the two Home Team core modules, as well as an upcoming degree programme for officers with academic aspirations. 

“I really believe in lifelong learning, and have completed my Masters in Leadership and Educational Change. It was a challenging experience. My son is in Secondary Three, so now most of my studies-related stress comes from him!”
 
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ALL ABOUT BALANCE
Crystal Gan, 26
Senior Assistant Executive; Human Resources Branch; Centre for Corporate Services


“I joined HTA about two years ago, and a typical day for me involves assessing CVs and supporting internal HR-related events and awards.

“I like my job – it is different from my previous job scope where I did mostly administrative work. Working at the Human Resources Branch is exciting and has helped make my two years here really fun. 

“I’m also a part-time student, learning Chinese Literature at SUSS. I attend classes about twice a week after work. It’s not as tiring as it sounds because I have my weekends to recharge. It is quite fun once you get the hang of juggling school and work.”

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KEEPING UP WITH EMERGING TRENDS
Crystal Choong, 34
Senior Executive; Learning Technologies & Future Operations; Centre for Learning Systems


“A cup of teh-C from the HTA canteen invigorates me before I dive straight into my work. At the Centre for Learning Systems, my job involves identifying and assessing new learning technologies to support training and learning in the Home Team. After reviewing them, we take steps to implement these technologies across the Home Team, and also recommend them to other Home Team Departments.

“One thing that people don’t know about our work is that a lot of effort and stakeholder engagement goes on behind the scenes to manage our learning systems, and to make sure they are relevant to the Home Team’s needs. 

“During my free time, I like to go window-shopping. But most of my weekends are spent with my kids!”

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READY TO RUN
Zulfadhli Fahim, 29
Senior Executive; Estate, Logistics & Procurement Branch; Centre for Corporate Services 


“The Estate team manages HTA’s facilities, buildings and infrastructure. I spend a big part of my day conducting inspections to make sure that our facilities are in good condition and safe for our officers to use. 

“I ‘run’ around HTA a lot as well! We run about doing supervisory checks; we run our own projects and make sure we meet our deadlines; and sometimes we run around for meetings. 

“I like to do sports, but as I have a three-year-old son, I spend most of my free time with my family. We usually go out on weekends for swimming and to the playground, so that my son can play with other kids.”

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A FAMILY AT WORK AND AT HOME
Sivakumar Ponapalam, 47
Senior Assistant Director; Infocomms and Technology Branch; Centre for Planning, Technology & Communications


“At HTA, we look at how we can make this learning environment more digitalised, as well as conduct research on technology to enable transformation. HTA has much potential – in terms of how we can innovate, how we can learn, and how we can embrace digitalisation. That is why we are working on the 'Smart Campus' concept with the various Home Team Departments. 

“We're a tight-knit family here at HTA, and we know one another well. We share a dream of moving ahead and bringing HTA to the frontier of learning.

“I have two beautiful daughters and a lovely wife, and after a hard day’s work, I look forward to going home to spend time with them!”

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LOVE AT HTA AND HOME
Atiqah Roslee, 26
Senior Assistant Executive; Programme Delivery and Resources; Home Team Centre for Leadership 


“At the Home Team Centre for Leadership, I help to run leadership courses and programmes, and also manage our procurement portfolio. 

“I joined HTA in 2018. I love the work I do here, and my colleagues have been great. When I first started, I didn’t know all the processes, but my colleagues have given me a lot of guidance. 

“As for what I do in my free time… I love prawning on weekends with my family who are really into fishing. So, after a day together, we get to have a seafood feast!"


Home Team Careers
Keen to become a Home Team Guardian? Visit the MHA Careers webpage to find out more.

GUARDIANS Photo Series

Written by

Cheryl Soh

Published

15 November 2019

Topics
HTA
Learning
Photo Feature
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