Founded in 1990, the institute is an established centre for labour education and training in Singapore. Programmes ranging from short courses to certificate and up to professional diploma courses are available for trade union leaders, labour-management groups and
others interested in the industrial and employment relations field.  

A growing number of regional and international participants have also benefited from the education activities of the institute organised in collaboration with partners such as the NTUC, ITUC-AP, ILO-ACTRAV and others.

The institute together with the Ministry of Manpower and the Singapore National Employers Federation, is a key driver of the Singapore Tripartism Forum to promote Singapore’s unique brand of tripartism.

To be the leadership development hub for the labour movement and to promote tripartite principles and practices for good industrial relations in Singapore.

The idea for a labour college aimed at strengthening the leadership of the trade union movement was first mooted at the 1969 NTUC Modernisation Seminar. However, plans to establish the college had to be set aside due to lack of funds and facilities. In the 1980s,
Mr Ong Teng Cheong, then the NTUC Secretary General, championed the idea again and convened a committee to set up the college with the help of  Mr W Conboy, Vice-Principal
of Ruskin College in Oxford.