It is only through the contributions of an excellent team of competent and committed people that CapitaMall Trust (CMT) can continue to sustain our growth and increase value for all our stakeholders. Thus, leveraging on CapitaLand’s Human Resource (HR) platform, the Manager and Property Manager have placed great emphasis on the development of our people to maintain and enhance their level of competence.

We offer a diverse range of in-house and external courses for our managers, executives and non-executives to acquire not only relevant centre management knowledge but also soft skills such as fostering employee motivation, promoting team creativity and influencing others positively.

Assistant Centre Manager (ACM) Programme
The ACM programme is a systematic training programme for Centre Manager designates. It spans a period of three to six months, covering training in a full spectrum of centre management functions such as leasing, marcom, operations, finance, projects and HR. The programme begins with an overview of CMT’s strategy and business plans, as well as the roles and responsibilities of a Centre Manager. This is followed by in-depth briefings and hands-on practice in marcom, leasing and operations. At the mall level, trainees are provided with on-the-job experience in simulated activities such as fire drill, building inspection, electrical shutdown, and tenancy fit-out. The programme includes briefings on asset enhancement initiatives, preparation and analysis of profit & loss statements, financial forecasts, budgets and various other relevant financial reports. External training is also introduced to give trainees professional guidance in people management, financial management and IT skills.

On-the-Job Training (OJT)
In 2004, two OJT programmes were launched - one for Customer Service Assistants and another for Technicians. OJT is a flexible, company-based training programme. The aim is to provide customised and directly relevant training to staff to enhance their competency at work and to ensure standardised work processes for the same job function across all malls. It is an effective way to provide training for operational staff who would otherwise find it difficult to find time because of shift work. In addition to in-house OJT programmes, training by external providers is also built-in to beef up core competencies in customer service for Customer Service Assistants and facilities management for Technicians.

Study Tours
A study trip to Australia covering Sydney and Melbourne was organised for a group of 15 participants from CapitaLand Retail Management Pte Ltd and CapitaMall Trust Management Limited. The objective of the study trip was to expose our staff to various aspects of retail businesses overseas.

The key highlight of the trip was a guided tour to a host of retail malls in the respective cities where participants were briefed on the various aspects of retail management – marketing strategies, shop front & interior designs, innovative shopping experiences & promotions, retail concepts etc. Upon return from the trip, participants made a presentation to their colleagues on their key learning experiences and suggested best practices which we can adopt for our malls.