Retailer clicks into action with universities for 4.0 era training

The retailer’s people director, Aurakanda Attavipach, said that as business continues to grow amid the changes to the business scene as well as the changing needs of today’s workforce, Tesco Lotus has adjusted its employee development programme to cater to such changes.
“When it comes to learning and personal development, we have found that the 4.0 era workforce looks for these three things: personalisation, ownership, and flexibility,” said Aurakanda.
“At the same time, our own business is required to be agile and quick to respond. With these demands in mind, we have joined forces with the four universities - Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, Khon Kaen University, and Prince of Songkhla University - to develop a personalised learning programme for Tesco Lotus colleagues nationwide.”
The Learning Dollars Programme provides workers with the flexibility to choose from an extensive range of courses including a Micro MBA and e-learning options. Eligible workers receive a set amount of “learning dollars” that they can choose to spend on courses that appeal to them, giving them ownership of their own career and personal development plans, as well as the personalised offer, said Aurakanda.
“The Learning Dollars Programme, since we launched it in collaboration with Chulalongkorn University three years ago, has been extremely successful, with demand being three to four times higher than the supply. In order to extend similar opportunities to Tesco Lotus colleagues located nationwide, we have expanded our collaboration to include leading regional universities,” she said.
Tesco Lotus has worked very closely with the universities to develop courses that aren’t only beneficial to career advancement, but also personal development.
The Micro MBA programme requires two years, while a variety of other courses ranging from Mind Mapping to Appreciative Inquiry are also available in addition to the core curriculum. Tesco Lotus has also developed an e-learning platform with Chulalongkorn University to facilitate “anywhere anytime learning”.
“As an employer of more than 50,000 people in Thailand, we believe that providing capability development opportunities for our colleagues will not only benefit them and the organisation, but also Thailand’s workforce as a whole,” Aurakanda said.
“We believe that learning is a lifelong endeavour, and what’s relevant today may not be so tomorrow. That’s why we continually adjust and readjust our colleague development programme to suit the needs of the 4.0 era workforce and organisations, so both can achieve sustainable growth.”