Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced on Tuesday (Nov 3) it had established a new arm that would offer training programs for external businesses and organizations in the broad areas of service excellence, operational excellence, organizational innovation, and digital transformation. 

The Singapore Airlines Academy will leverage the "wide range of globally recognized skills and competencies that exists within SIA, which have enabled the airline to establish a pre-eminent position in a highly competitive industry", the national carrier said in a media release.

Among the programs offered are Service Mindfulness and Awareness, Effective Communication, and Professional Image, which targets frontline staff and covers topics such as practicing appropriate self-grooming techniques. 

There is also the Innovation Program and Playbook, a two-day program that teaches how to build an innovation culture for an organization and design a leadership practice for supporting staff in innovation work. 

Training packages will be customizable to meet the requirements of individual companies and organizations. The courses will be conducted by SIA trainers, who are certified instructors and facilitators with practical frontline experience, as shared by the airline.

“SIA receives many requests from organizations wanting to know how we have attained our reputation for industry-leading service and operational excellence, and to better understand how we achieved our successful digital transformation," said Vanessa Ng, Senior Vice-President for Human Resources in media.

SIA started offering external courses in September when it collaborated with Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on a customized training program for patient care officers. The three-day course included topics such as effective interpersonal communication and customer handling.