TCS and People’s Association partner to empower underprivileged communities through digital education

The initiative, TCS-PA Alliance for Community Empowerment (ACE), will Comprise Tech Education Including Imparting of Design Thinking Skills to Low-Income children/youth, and Anti-Scam Workshops for the Elderly

PRESS RELEASE

SINGAPORE, September 12, 2022: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) is partnering with the People’s Association (PA), to launch the Alliance for Community Empowerment (ACE), to empower and support sustainable communities in Singapore. Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, Mr Desmond Lee, graced the launch event as the guest of honour.

In support of Singapore’s Smart Nation agenda, ACE aims to foster greater digital fluency and preparedness for underprivileged youths, families, and the elderly in Singapore through curated digital programmes and initiatives, allowing them to be equipped with the right skills and knowledge to thrive in an increasingly digitalised world.

Education and Innovation as key pillars to empower communities in-need

Leveraging TCS’ deep expertise in technology and digital innovation, and PA’s extensive grassroots network, ACE will empower communities through two core pillars – Education, which focuses on upskilling and reskilling; and Innovation, which involves collaborative partnerships and collective ideation between TCS and government agencies to co-create solutions for local community challenges.

One of the anchor initiatives powered by ACE is the TCS-PA Nanyang Sayang goIT programme1. Under this initiative, which was held at Nanyang Community Club (CC), TCS professionals conducted pro-bono workshops with mentors selected from the Nanyang Youth Network. These mentors, comprising Junior Colleges and University students, were taught skills such as design thinking and User Experience/ Interface (UX/UI), which they then imparted to children from low-income households and youths from Primary 1 to Secondary 2. Moving forward, TCS-PA ACE will continue to expand the goIT programme to other CC divisions in the West Coast district, with plans to reach at least 70 students / mentees by March 2023.

“Nanyang Youth Network is happy to be part of this pilot initiative, working along with TCS to co-create the Nanyang Sayang goIT Programme to equip our youth mentors with design thinking and training capabilities. I am impressed by the creative solutions that the young mentees have produced, with guidance from the youth mentors, and I am sure the skills that they learnt will definitely benefit them in the long run.” said Mr Ang Wei Neng, Adviser to Nanyang Grassroots Organisations, who was also present at the launch.

In addition, ACE will also debut several anti-scam education workshops in collaboration with the National Crime Prevention Council. Recognising the vulnerability of seniors in falling victims to cyber-crimes and scams, the series of workshops seeks to better prepare elderly residents for a rapidly digitalised society. It is slated for six different divisions within the West Coast Group Representation Constituency beginning in Q4 2022 and proceeding through 2023.

All initiatives under ACE are fully enabled by the TCS-PA Empowerment Fund, established in 2020 to alleviate Covid-19’s impact on vulnerable communities. A total of close to SGD $70,000 was raised through an employee donation drive, matched dollar-for-dollar by TCS. Plans are also underway to introduce the goIT programme and the anti-scam workshops to other constituencies around Singapore from next year.

A sustained dedication to the local community

Over the past six years, TCS has made consistent and significant efforts in supporting local communities through different technology-focused initiatives. To date the company has completed numerous milestone projects with PA that have benefitted more than 500,000 residents in Singapore, with total commercial value of these projects estimated at more than 13,000 hours or S$550,000. The co-creation of ACE marks a further commitment by both organisations to make further strides in their partnership and provide targeted assistance to more communities.

“The partnership between PA and TCS has grown from strength to strength over the years due to the commitment of both organisations to assist the communities in need. The launch of the Alliance for Community Empowerment brings the collaborations between TCS and PA even closer. I hope more organisations like TCS would come forward to co-identify needs, provide co-solutions and co-deliver initiatives with PA,” said Lim Hock Yu, Chief Executive Director, PA.

“With the Alliance for Community Empowerment, we are excited to take our partnership with PA to the next level and benefit more underprivileged segments of society. We believe that no one, regardless of their backgrounds, should be left behind in the journey towards digitalisation. Giving back to the communities that we operate in is a cornerstone of our work,” said Girish Ramachandran, President, TCS Asia Pacific.