Home Team Academy Celebrates Ten Years of Training Excellence

The Home Team Academy (HTA) was founded on 2 September 2006 as a way to unite the numerous Home Team Departments and establish a common training institution for the Home Team.

In the 10 years since its founding, the HTA has grown and adapted to its status as a platform that facilitates the cross sharing of knowledge and expertise amongst the Home Team Departments.

These achievements, and the people behind them, were recognised by Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Mr Desmond Lee and Chief Executive of HTA Mr T Raja Kumar during the anniversary dinner held at HTA’s Harmony Hall.

“Beyond imparting skills and knowledge, HTA’s role is also to imbue the Home Team values in each and every Home Team officer and to engender a very strong Home Team camaraderie,” said Chief Executive of HTA Mr T Raja Kumar.

The Anniversary Dinner was attended by Home Team officers both past and present, as well as individuals who had contributed to the growth and development of HTA. PHOTO: Home Team Academy

During his speech, Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Mr Desmond Lee highlighted HTA’s plan to renew focus on leadership development, emphasise on cooperation and integration of Home Team Departments and to enhance learning and training programmers for Home Team officers.

Some of these programmes include the Home Team Integration module and the Home Team Ethics, Values and Ethos module, which will be ready in April 2017.

“HTA has to keep evolving to ensure that its efforts are relevant in order for Home Team officers to deliver on their mission to keep Singapore safe and secure,” said Mr Lee.

Ms Norian Ahmad Sowyan was recognised for being one of HTA’s pioneer staff members, having been with HTA since its inception.PHOTO: Home Team Academy

The celebrations concluded with the sealing of a time capsule containing meaningful artefacts. Among the artefacts were a letter from the current Chief Executive of HTA Mr Raja to the Chief Executive of HTA in 2031, and a copy of the publication “Our Guardians- keeping Singapore safe and secure since the 1950’s” which contained a personal message from Mr Lee.

The other artefacts were gathered from various parts of the training fraternity and symbolised how far the HTA has grown as an institution over the past 10 years. It was also a representation of what its officers hope to achieve in the future.

Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs Mr Desmond Lee (left) and Chief Executive of HTA Mr T Raja Kumar (right) sealing the time capsule containing artefacts that symbolised the hopes of HTA’s officers and leaders for the next decade and beyond. PHOTO BY: Home Team Academy