Home Team Academy (HTA) Home Team Training Excellence (TraX) Awards Ceremony 2026 - Keynote Address by Ms Sim Ann, Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Second Minister for Home Affairs

Home Team Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1. A very good morning to all of you.

2. It is a pleasure to join you today for the Home Team Training Excellence - or the TraX - Awards Ceremony 2026.

3. This annual celebration holds special significance as we recognise and honour the outstanding contributions of our Home Team trainers and training units. 

4. This year’s theme of “Training & Development in Action: Leveraging Human-Centred AI for Training Excellence” reflects the transformative influence of technology and AI on how we train and learn.

The Evolving Training Landscape 

5. The training landscape is changing rapidly.

6. Our operating environment is becoming more complex, dynamic and technology-driven. 

7. Our approach to training must therefore evolve as well.

8. Excellence in training and learning is a continuous journey.

9. We must keep experimenting, adapting and finding new ways to work together across the Home Team.

10. In response, HTA has initiated concrete steps to transform our learning and training.

11. This includes upgrading our physical learning spaces and piloting AI-powered tools.

12. For example, HTA is progressively upgrading 62 Smart classrooms to support more interactive and collaborative learning.

13. At the same time, it is working with Home Team Departments to pilot AI-enabled solutions.

14. These include e-invigilation, behavioural analytics, and automated video captioning and timestamping.

15. Through these pilots, we are exploring how emerging technologies can strengthen trainer development and improve learning and assessment.

16. These AI-enabled tools and technologies offer new opportunities to enhance curriculum development and boost learner engagement.

Equipping Our Trainers and Strengthening Digital Infrastructure for the AI Transformation

17. Preparing our trainers for this AI transformation requires more than technology.

18. It requires a strong learning community - one that is ready to experiment, collaborate and continually build new capabilities.

19. To support our trainers and strengthen the Home Team’s readiness for AI-enabled training, HTA has rolled out four key initiatives.

20. First, we are fostering collaboration through the Training and Development Community of Practice or the T&D CoP.

21. Earlier this year, HTA brought together trainers and curriculum developers from across the Home Team under the T&D CoP.

22. Participants explored how MHA AI tools, such as Buzzer and Teammate, could support teaching and learning.

23. They also exchanged ideas and good practices, and built confidence in applying technology to their work.  

24. Second, we launched the inaugural Home Team AI Learning Sprint.

25. Building on the T&D CoP, we created a focused platform for trainers and curriculum developers to put ideas into action.

26. The sprint reinforced a simple point, that technology alone does not drive transformation.

27. People do.

28. By learning, experimenting and innovating together, participants strengthened collaboration and built a stronger culture of shared learning across the Home Team.

29. This spirit of collaboration will be critical as we harness the potential of AI to transform how we work and learn.

30. Third, we are piloting AI-powered tools for trainers and curriculum developers.

31. Beyond the AI Learning Sprint, we are also exploring the use of AI through practical trials.

32. We piloted Teammies, a highly contextualised AI chatbot, and Quiz WizAIrd, which supports lesson planning, assessment creation and marking.

33. These trials helped trainers and curriculum developers build confidence and capability in applying AI to their daily work.

34. Last but not least, we are shaping a future-ready training community through HTA’s AI Training Roadmap.

35. To sustain and scale these efforts in AI-enabled learning, HTA has developed a tiered roadmap that will systematically strengthen AI capabilities across the Home Team training community, while fostering a culture of continuous learning, innovation and excellence.

36. In this way, we can train and learn better as One Home Team, with AI as an amplifier.

37. Beyond preparing our trainers, HTA is investing in the digital infrastructure needed for this transformation.

38. HTA and HTX are working together on a multi-year effort to develop UNITY, which stands for Unified Intelligent Training and Learning System.

39. UNITY will replace the existing Home Team Learning Management System 2.0.

40. UNITY will be more than a learning management system.

41. It will be an enterprise-wide platform that brings together training content, learning resources, workflows and data across the Home Team.

42. This will provide officers with a more seamless and user-centred learning experience.

43. With AI-enabled capabilities - and appropriate human oversight - UNITY will streamline suitable training workflows and support more personalised, adaptive learning for every officer.

Review of HT Trainer Skills Allowance & Honorarium

44. As trainers and curriculum developers take on increasingly complex roles in an AI-enabled training landscape, it is important that our recognition framework continues to reflect the capabilities and contributions required of them.

45. I am pleased to share that the Trainer Skills Allowance is currently under review.

46. The review is considering how the allowance can better recognise the dual competencies required of Home Team trainers, their operational competencies, and their Training and Adult Education, or TAE, competencies.

47. In tandem, HTA is also reviewing the Trainer Honorarium.

48. We are making good progress on both reviews.

49. Further details, including implementation arrangements and timelines, will be shared next year.

Recognising Our Awards Winners

50. Today, we recognise 17 trainers and 10 training units under the Home Team Training Excellence Awards.

51. We also honour 8 teams under the AI Learning Sprint Excellence-in-Action Awards.

52. Let me highlight three award recipients.

53. First, we have Theepan Prakash from the Singapore Prison Service, who is receiving the Home Team Trainer of the Year award.

54. Theepan began as a full-time Specialist Trainer at the Singapore Prison Training Institute in 2014.

55. Since then, he has never stopped learning.

56. Through part-time study, he earned a Master of Arts in Professional Education from NIE-NTU.

57. Even after moving to the frontline in 2020, he remained connected to training as an Adjunct Principal Trainer.

58. Theepan has since returned as a full-time trainer, achieving the apex Master Trainer appointment in 2025.

59. His journey is a testament to what HTA’s structured trainer development pathway and learning opportunities can enable – and it is this dedication and excellence that has earned him the Home Team Trainer of the Year award.

60. For the Home Team Training Unit Category, the winning team is Leadership & Transformational Skills (LTS) Branch, Training Command, from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.

61. The LTS Branch used AI and digital technologies to reimagine how officers learn and develop.

62. The team created three innovations.

63. The first is NORTH STAR, an AI-powered leadership development companion.

64. The second is CLARA, an AI virtual role-player for practicing challenging workplace conversations.

65. And the third is a Design Thinking Challenge module, an escape-room-style experience conducted in HTA’s Smart classrooms.

66. Together, these innovations reflect the branch’s commitment to a learning experience that is engaging, accessible and future-ready.

67. Among the AI Learning Sprint Excellence-in-Action Distinction awardees, we have Team BloomTech from the Singapore Police Force.

68. The team developed a focused, well-grounded needs analysis and curriculum plan that closely aligned learning outcomes, instructional strategies, and assessments - all within just six hours - demonstrating how AI can enhance both the speed and quality of training design.

69. These impressive deliverables reflected their commitment to training excellence.

Closing

70. In closing, warm congratulations to all our award recipients on your well-deserved achievements.

71. Your passion, professionalism and commitment to excellence have strengthened training across the Home Team and enhanced our operational readiness.

72. Let us continue to learn from one another and deepen collaboration across Home Team Departments.

73. Together, let us embrace innovation and use AI responsibly to advance training excellence.

74. I thank our trainers, curriculum developers and Home Team Departments for your dedication and contributions.

75. Your collective efforts are what make the Home Team learning ecosystem stronger, smarter and truly future-ready.

76. Thank you.