Association for Talent Development (ATD) has chosen UST for the 2023 BEST Award for a third time citing its ‘commitment to provide employees training and educational opportunities to drive career growth.’ Being given away to 72 firms this year, this is the highest accolade in corporate talent development and presupposes a rigorous application procedure.

Largest professional body

A UST spokesperson explained that ATD is the world’s largest professional organisation supporting initiatives to develop the knowledge and skills of employees, improve performance, and help achieve results. Established in 1943, the association was previously known as the American Society for Training & Development, with members drawn from more than 100 countries. 

BEST Award is presented to organisations that demonstrate ‘exceptional commitment to enterprise-wide success through talent development.’ The spokesperson said UST’s sustained success in the ratings can be attributed to its commitment to developing its employees and building upon its core values to create a culture that encourages continuous learning.

Also read: UST team bags PMI South Asia’s CSR ‘Project of the Year’ award

Learn across all levels

Learning happens across all levels, with senior leaders sponsoring educational programs that create employee mentorship opportunities. UST has invested heavily in employee training to build a large pool of skilled professionals. It has designed and deployed digital learning programs, enabling more than 2,000 graduates to take on new roles on cutting-edge technologies, the spokesperson said. 

The UST Career Velocity programme allows for training personalisation that helps employees grow their knowledge base in areas most relevant to them. It also enables them to view adjacent roles, and trending skills and can even suggest career paths across role families or functions.

Also read: UST wins 9 Brandon Hall Group awards for human capital management

Commitment to succeed

Kavita Kurup, Global Head of Human Resources, said UST’s talent development agenda is intimately tied to the commitment to succeed. “Born to Learn” is one of our core tenets. We believe in continuous upskilling to ensure employees deliver new products and systems to drive customer success.” 

Tony Bingham, President and Chief Executive Officer, ATD, said the 72 organisations chosen for the award drive impact and solve business challenges through talent development practices in innovative ways. “Senior leaders in these organisations understand the strategic role learning has, and are committed to investing in growth and development of their people,” he added. 

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