Changing Mindsets : The Way Forward

 

In many manufacturing companies, manpower is often cited as one of the main stumbling blocks to further expansion. Add-Plus Electronic Pte. Ltd, a provider of electronic manufacturing services for printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), is no stranger to such issues.

 

Mr Jimmy Phee, Senior QA Engineer, and Mr Lee Hong Choon,  Production Controller, from Add-Plus’ manufacturing team, who worked on the SME QIANG programme,

“As a SME (Small Medium Enterprise), we need to constantly reduce operation cost and maintain profits to stay in the business,” Mr Johnny Mok, General Manager of Add-Plus explained.

“But at the same time, we face difficulties attracting locals to our company, and we cannot depend too heavily on foreign workers. Our tight labour situation means we cannot expand our business as fast and as much as we would like to.”

Thus when approached by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) to sign up for the SME QIANG Lean Six Sigma Programme, Mr Mok saw it as an excellent opportunity to upgrade the skill set of his team as well as re-look at the company’s work processes.

 

A Turn for the Better

 

Time for Change

Having spent the earlier part of her working years taking on administrative duties in the travel industry, Wendy Tan came to a point where she started questioning if she could have a more fulfilling career and calling in life.

The 28 year-old recalled facing stacks of paper work each day and doing “profit-oriented” tasks, which ultimately left her feeling drained out and uninspired. “At the end of the day I wondered what have I actually achieved.”

Her desire for job-fulfillment had her re-visiting a childhood ambition. Wendy had always thought highly of nurses and their duties, and even considered injections, removing stitches or drawing blood as ‘cool’ tasks!

From Banking To Blockbusters

 

Growing up, Mohammad Firdaus had always had an ardent fascination for doodling, movies and games. Unable to land a job in the animation industry with his Diploma in Multimedia Computing, he took to the finance sector and stayed there for 5 years.

Little did he expect, that going for an upgrading course with the bank he was working with, would turn into a pivotal moment that reignited his passion for animation.

Realising that his true passion in computer graphics had never left him, his uncle, Mr Affandi Salleh, introduced him to the WSQ website, opening a whole new world of opportunities for him to enter the animation industry.

Mohammad Firdaus

A Second Calling in Nursing

From Housewife to Nursing

It was not until a minor accident that landed Julie Yeo in hospital where she first realized the importance of nursing. This set her thinking about how nurses play a vital role in ensuring that patients receive the best care, and she began to consider going back to the workforce and to look at nursing as a second career.

When she later chanced upon an ITE advertisement for nursing students, she decided to enroll on the encouragement of her husband. Julie was then 38 years of age and had been a homemaker for over ten years.

Childcare matters: the role of an early childhood educator

Unknown to many, there is a lot of thought and rigour that goes into designing curriculum for and nurturing young children. There are also many childcare educators and professionals out there who are keen and ready to make a difference.

One such educator who has joined the early childhood education industry very early in her career, is Nurshahilah Bibi Bte Husin Shah. The 25 year-old chose to enter this field upon completing her studies at the Singapore Institute of Management. She had a business degree and had planned for a career in a related field. However, other options soon became available.

“When I graduated, the career options available included jobs in the finance industry. But I didn’t rule out a career in teaching, if the opportunity arose,” says Nurshahilah.

An Eye for Visual Merchandising

For Willie Teoh, design has always been a focal point of his life. Starting with a Multimedia and Animation course when he was in his teens, the 24-year-old is now studying at First Media Design School for an Advanced Diploma in Visual Communications, majoring in Graphic Design.

He confesses that his world is ruled by the “3-Ds”, namely “Design, Dance, and DJ-ing” and it is through these interests and activities that he discovers his identity. Willie enjoys trying new things and adopts a “if you never try, you’ll never know” attitude towards life.

Foray into Visual Merchandising

In August this year, upon hearing about a three-day, fully subsidised Visual Merchandising Course organised by the Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre (TaF.tc) and the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (SIRS), Willie was immediately keen.

The course that Willie attended was the "Develop and Implement Creative Concepts for Visual Merchandising" module. It is one of seven Visual Merchandising Modules under WDA's Retail WSQ framework set up to ensure a trained pool of Visual Merchandisers ready to meet industry demand.

Transforming Fine Arts Skills Into Digital Virtuosity

Art has always been Yeo Qing Cong’s first love. As a young boy, he had dreamt of being a painter and had looked forward to selling his works of art after graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

The necessities of survival however, brought him to the gym as a personal trainer, the classroom as a children’s art teacher and even to the casino as a dealer – until he stumbled upon the WSQ Diploma in Animation from the 3dsense Media School.

Trading work experience for formal qualifications

Sng Choon Kok first joined Regent Singapore (formerly known as the Pavilion Intercontinental Singapore) sometime in 1982 as a security officer. Today, he is now the hotel’s Director of Security responsible for the safety and security of all the guests and employees of the hotel as well as its physical assets.

Besides day-to-day security issues, his work also includes strategy planning for the hotel’s strategic security needs, where he designs and implements safety and security programmes, policies and procedures that have to be adhered to by all staff members, from the board of management down to the ground crew.

“My team and I face new challenges every day and we have to be quick to adapt,” explained Choon Kok. “With security threats evolving all the time, we have to constantly update ourselves with the latest technologies and news. And we have to stay ahead with effective preventive and crisis management strategies.”

Turning A Moment of Chance Into A Jem

Early in 2012, Gillian Shen was devastated when she failed to get a place in one of the local universities after graduating from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma with Merit in Mass Communication. It was the lowest point in her life, but it was also a catalyst for an undiscovered and exciting path.

Around the same time, Gillian had signed up for ‘Project Jem’, a nationwide uniform design competition by an upcoming mall in Jurong. In preparation for the competition, she attended the WSQ Develop Design Collection course by the Textile and Fashion Industry Training Centre.

“I really wanted to go for the course because I wouldn’t have known how to start working on my design entry. I didn’t even know what certain terms in the competition brief meant.” she said. “I called the Jem management and was told that the class was already full. But they assured me they would try to get me a place, and thankfully, I did get one.”

Helping Women Look & Feel Beautiful

Her passion is to help her customers look and feel beautiful. Meet Christina Goh, a lingerie specialist with over 10 years of experience in dressing ladies with the best intimate apparel.

As a Senior Sales Supervisor with international lingerie retailer Triumph, Christina sets herself a tall order whenever she is at the service frontline – how to help every lady she serves look her best.

Leading the Way in Developing Creative Talent

Samuel Seow likes to joke that he was born with arts in his blood. In his youth, he always dreamt of a career in the arts. While at Victoria Junior College, he took Theatre Studies and Drama in his ‘A’ Levels. But when a legal career beckoned, he decided to merge his passion with his profession.

As a lawyer specialising in intellectual property law, general commercial and corporate law, Samuel is well-recognised in the entertainment, arts and media sectors. He represents a wide range of individuals and businesses in the film, television, music, theatre, media and related industries, both in Singapore and in the region.

“For many of my clients, they would generally not enter into written agreements with anyone, whether a member of the cast and crew, or a service provider,” Samuel shared.

A Champion of Singapore’s Design Community

Feng Zhu has worked on some of the greatest films and games ever produced – Star Wars, and Command and Conquer – and created some of the world’s best-loved characters in Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

He has taught in two world-renowned design schools – Art Center College of Design and Gnomon – and is ranked among the likes of Chris Bangle, ex-Chief of Design for BMW, and Stefano Marzano, Chief Creative Director of Philips.

Given his prolific portfolio and extraordinary talent, he could choose to concentrate on developing more blockbuster productions.

Yet he chose to set up a design school - not for practicing professionals, but for early learners. Not in a city with a long art history, but in Singapore with a fledging production industry.

Carving a Niche as an Entrepreneur

Leslie has always had the knack of sniffing out new business opportunities.

From being a business manager in a hard disc company, he is now the boss of Royal Bussan Singapore Pte Ltd, a medical device company. He actively looks for medical projects and brings in medical equipment that will benefit the medical community in Singapore.

What made him switch industries? What brought about this leap in his career?

Providing Timely and Meaningful Career Guidance

Glenford knows what it is like to face career roadblocks. He was a human resource practitioner for many years when he had to take an enforced break from work due to family reasons.

Once he was ready to return to the workforce, he decided he wanted a career that would utilise his knowledge and skills to help people in a meaningful way. So, when he saw an advertisement for a career consultant, he knew he has found his calling.

Today, Glenford is a Career Consultant with the career centre located at the Central Singapore Community Development Council, where he is part of the team that provides Singaporeans and Permanent Residents with suitable training and employment advice. Each member of the team manages 100 to 150 cases at any one time.

Steering his way to a maritime career

Seah Cheong Hock was in his forties when he started out as a Trainee Steersman with Tian San Shipping (Private) Limited in 2009. The chance to work in a new industry was a life-changing experience for him, as he was an ex-offender and had been plying his trade in the construction industry before joining Tian San through the Place and Train (PnT) Programme for Harbour Craft Steersman.

“I started as a Trainee Steersman and my job was to learn how to handle or steer vessels or crafts. Everything was new to me, as I had no relevant background and experiences at all. Learning from scratch was not easy but it was fulfilling, and I felt a sense of achievement along the way as well,” says Cheong Hock.

To qualify as a Steersman, Cheong Hock recalled how during the initial period of four months of “on-the-job training”, he and other trainees were coached by the Senior Manager for Operations and were also sponsored for the Port Limits Steersman Course in preparation for the Steersman Examination.

Career Coaching @ CaliberLink

At 48, KW Lee has had an extensive career and bags of experience in the banking and finance industry. He never thought he needed additional training or help in his career until he came across CaliberLink.

He says: “I first came across CaliberLink in March during its road show at Raffles Place where it was holding its official opening for its Bras Basah office for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs). I had heard from my friend that it provided services such as career coaching and offered courses such as image workshop and resume workshop, which were excellent for job seekers preparing for interviews or a switch in career.”

A Cocktail For Success

Muhammad Shafiee bin Abdullah has always wanted to make it big in the food and beverage industry. He recalls: “Since young, I’ve always found bartending and bartenders to be cool and trendy. To me, it wasn’t just about mixing and serving drinks, but also the showmanship of bartenders and the way they showed off their flaring skills to entertain crowds, which intrigued me.”

In 2008, he took his first step towards fulfilling his ambition when he joined the Timbre Group as a bartender. At that time, he had little experience in the trade and relied on picking up bartending skills while on the job.

Shafiee recalls harsh training conditions, competition with better and more experienced bartenders, as well as growing expectations and demands in the job from his managers and customers alike.

A Passion for Learning Blossoms

Hamidah Abdul Karim is a senior travel executive with a passion for floristry. So deep is her love for floral design that she regularly takes part in floristry competitions locally and abroad.

"Flower design has always been my interest and floristry is an avenue for me for enjoyment or to express myself, no matter how busy I am with my full-time job or family commitments," says Hamidah. "Entering competitions is just another platform for me to showcase my artwork and techniques."

For Hamidah, she values the exposure and creative environment that she gets at competitions. She explains: "I enjoy learning new things and I believe everyday is a journey to learn. And the more I learn, the more I crave for new ideas and opportunities. New ideas and creativity somehow nurtures oneself. "

Chasing Her Dream

For many, switching careers is a daunting move. For Chew Yixin though, her decision to switch jobs could not have been more drastic. Having managed acquisition projects in the government sector prior, Yixin decided after five years, that she was going to realize her dream of becoming a fashion designer.

Yixin explained: “I've always been interested in fashion, from the garment construction point of view. From Rei Kawakubo's deconstructed garments to Hussein Chalayan's innovative pattern cutting, fashion has always excited me. I see it as the architecture for the human form that combines both art (design), and science (construction).

After spending five years in project management, I thought it was time for me to chase my dream. For me, it was now or never.” 

Servicing People With A Knowledge Bank

 

Growing up in a large extended family, Anita loves being with people. That is why she opted for a career in the service industry straight out from school.

“I finished my GCE “O” Levels in 1986 and up till 2000, I worked in Office Administration and Property Management,” Anita said. “In 2001, I joined Tan Tock Seng Hospital as a Housekeeping Supervisor during the SARS period and I enjoyed the housekeeping work so much that I decided to stay and develop in this area.” She later joined the Somerset Service Apartment in 2005 as a Senior Housekeeping Supervisor, before becoming a Housekeeping Supervisor with The American Club in 2008.

“After two years with The American Club, I realised that with just experience alone, I wasn’t able to progress any further,” Anita shared. “But fear stopped me from going further in my studies. Thankfully, my boss, Mr Tang, saw my dilemma. He encouraged me to upgrade myself and supported my desire to take on further training, so I decided to enrol in the Diploma in Tourism (Hospitality Management) with Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS).”

Conversing in English

The secret to the friendly ambience at Han's chain of cafes lies not only in the ingredients, but also the company's investment in staff training. Mrs Teo Hong Lian, Mrs Yong Yan Ting and Mrs Chua Bee Luan, Han's employees at different outlets, have been attending weekly conversational English language courses at the company's Park Mall branch.

Flexible Training Makes Learning Easy

Han's Anson Road outlet is a hive of activity before 10am every weekday. Stepping into the cafe, you can spot Mrs Teo Hong Lian, 56, serving a rapid succession of customers queuing for their morning coffee and toast. As the outlet is located in the Central Business District, it is not unusual for Mrs Teo to serve expatriates. Mrs Teo said, “Before attending the English course, I would always pass on the English-speaking customers to my colleagues. I was too afraid to speak to them.”

She was glad when her supervisor recommended her to attend conversational English lessons at one of the Han’s outlet. The lessons were arranged around her work schedule and at a convenient location, which made it very convenient for her to attend and reduced fatigue from travelling.

The Measure Of Success For Fox Fashion Singapore

Ask any retail outlet in Singapore what their benchmarks for success are and you are likely to hear the following – having the right product, excellent customer service, developing a robust supply chain or having attractive marketing/sales promotions – these are all fundamentals.

For Fox Fashion Singapore, the fashion and casual wear chain certainly has all of the attributes above and has gone a long way since its international launch here in 2004 to grow from one flagship outlet to 22 stores island-wide.

Mr Khoo Kar Tiong, General Manager of Fox Fashion Singapore, related that though business and sales have been robust, his company are constantly looking at ways to improve. One aspect that Fox focuses on is in the area of productivity, or more accurately, the measure of productivity. “We realised that business performance could be improved by better productivity, especially in an environment where staff costs are constantly rising, and the labour market is tight.” said Kar Tiong. “Training and upgrading our staff would in turn reap greater benefits.”

Never Too Old To Learn

Mr Mohammad Bin Gelan seems to revel in the opportunities that life throws at him. The 63 year-old has had quite a colourful career, from working on a ship for almost his entire career to plying his trade in the construction industry.

Drifting from job to job, Mohammad came to a point where old age was catching up with him and he was finding work hard to come by. He however felt he had more to give and wished he could do more. And if only he was trained in something new, his job prospects could improve.

With this simple desire, Mohammad attended a job fair where he was interviewed and then introduced to programmes at his local Community Development Council (CDC)’s Career Centre, where he could enrol in a host of courses to upgrade this skills.

Bigger Smiles With Improved Working Environment

Workers at leading manufacturer of precision springs, Advanex (Singapore), have been sporting bigger smiles these days. Work-conditions have leaped to new heights after the company, with more than half of its 103 staff aged 40 years and above, maximised its use of the ADVANTAGE! Scheme to put in place initiatives to ease their workers’ workload and improve their efficiency.

Two examples of these initiatives are the vision inspection equipment with LCD monitor and the acquisition of battery-operated pallet jacks.

Improved Working Environment

“Our small metal component parts measure 5mm by 5mm and our staff used to strain their eyes to examine it. With help from the ADVANTAGE! Scheme, we bought a vision inspection equipment, which allows us to magnify the parts by 10 to 20 times and this reduces eye strains for our mature workers,” said Advanex’s Senior Human Resource Manager, Alice Tan.

“Another example would be the transporting of heavy goods. Raw materials or finished goods weigh an average of 800kg to 1,000kg. With the introduction of battery-operated pallet jack, our workers find it easier to push and pull the loaded pallet around. It reduces physical fatigue.”

Riding A Career Of Adventure

“The best part of my job is when guests come back and say ‘the ride is the best in the park!’” Rachel Tan quipped with a bright smile. Having been in the Attractions Crew at Universal Studios Singapore for over two years, Rachel takes great pride in giving visitors the best ride experience. “Contrary to what many people think, ride operation is not just about pressing some buttons,” Rachel shared. “It is really about creating the right ambience, putting visitors into the right frame of mind to enjoy the ride. To do this everyone in the team has to chip in and play a part.”

Exchanging A Ship For A Theme Park

Rachel certainly knows what it means to be a team player. Before joining the Universal Studios theme park, she was part of the server team on board a leisure cruise liner, attending to the needs of diners in its various restaurants. But after eight years calling at various ports, she wanted a change in her work. “At that time, Resorts World Sentosa was offering positions in Universal Studios Singapore,” Rachel said. “I like the branding of Universal Studios Singapore and said to myself, why not give it a try and see where it goes?”

Pairing Service Excellence with Top-Notch Cooking Skills

The ability to dish up tasty food used to be the sole quality expected of chefs in the Food & Beverage industry. But judges for this year's Singapore National Restaurant Skills Competition (SNRSC), now into its second year, are looking beyond taste to qualities such as “team work, coordination excellence, hygiene and product knowledge, service protocol and professionalism,” according to Mr Frank Yuen (right), Board Member of the Food & Beverage Managers’ Association (FBMA) of Singapore and General Manager of Le lifestyle Hospitality Food Services.

He said, “Restaurant practitioners, besides knowledge of food preparation and service, should try to gain more knowledge and skills in other disciplines to complement the overall dining experience. They need to keep abreast of developments in farming and fishing, and hone their presentation skills and salesmanship.”

Celebrity Chef Eric Teo (right) who is also judging the competition agrees. He feels restaurant staff in Singapore are “not getting enough exposure to the industry and job hop too often.”

“A professional chef or server needs to love his job and be passionate about the people dining at their restaurants . There are too many part timers who are not trained to handle picky and demanding guests,” said Chef Teo. As for beginners in the kitchen, they should “have the right attitude and be very passionate and fanatic about cooking good food.” He said, “Basic cooking skills, knowledge of various cutting methods, basic cooking techniques and finally knowing the names of basic fruits , vegetables and different types of meat, fish and seafood are the foundation of a successful career as a chef.”

Self-Improvement Leads to Workplace Success

Over the past 17 years, April Wong has accumulated a wealth of experience in the human resource field in both the public and private sectors. Currently with the National Council of Social Service, she was transferred to handle the challenging portfolio of Talent Management in the newly formed Manpower Capability Development Department, which entails developing a pipeline of future leaders in the social service sector.



Picking up Practical HR Skills

To prepare for the transfer, April enrolled herself in the WSQ Specialist Diploma in Human Capital Management (HR Development) at Human Capital Singapore Pte Ltd (HCS) to gain more knowledge of Talent Management.

Upgrading Courses Helped Former Self-Employed Man Step Out Of Comfort Zone

When Francis Pang was unemployed for six months, scary thoughts raced through his mind as he was the sole breadwinner. With only a Secondary Three education, he knew he faced an uphill task to find a job.

“I was unsure where to seek help for my financial problems. I was under pressure to find a job to support my family,” recalled the former self-employed 51-year-old, who previously handled material handling equipment and racking systems for industrial use. “The monthly bills had to be paid for and the daily expenses for the family were the main problems that troubled me. But even in lean times, I constantly reminded myself to adopt a positive mindset.”

“I waded through the Straits Times advertisements many times and sent out scores of applications, which went unanswered until I dropped by the NorthWest CDC in Woodlands Civic Centre, where I met Stephen Lai. He gave me the opportunity that I was looking for but advised me to go for upgrading courses so that I find a better job.”

From cleaning lady to childcare centre assistant

Ms Ang Chin Choo used to clean her sister's Japanese pub every weekend.  Before this, she was helping out at a sushi stall in a shopping mall near her home.  She could not take on a full-time job as her children were still young and she had to take care of them when they came back from school.  Her husband was also not supportive of her going out to work as she had her hands full with house work.  “He looked forward to warm, home-cooked meals when he came home from work,” quipped Ms Ang.

Upgrading with Workfare-Skill Up programme

The situation changed when her children were old enough to take care of themselves.  Her eldest child has just graduated from university while her youngest child has just enrolled in the polytechnic.  Her brother who knew about the Workfare–Skill Up programme encouraged her to upgrade herself.  When Ms Ang first approached course consultant Marilyn Tay at NorthEast CDC, she did not know what courses to take as she had no concrete plans for the future.  The latter was very encouraging and advised her to register for some basic courses first before choosing a career path.

Never Too Old To Learn

Mdm Seah Huat Tin, 55, works as a cleaning lady at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The chatty and confident mother of four daughters recounts that she was a completely different person five years ago when she was still a housewife. 

“My children had all grown up and were leading their own lives. I did not know what to do at home all day, so I spent the whole day sleeping and watching television. For three years I suffered from depression,” said Mdm Seah. Seeing her mother so listless, Mdm Seah's daughters advised her to look for a job to break out of the cycle of inertia and depression.

Mdm Seah eventually found a job as a cleaning lady at a NTU hostel, but found that she had difficulties communicating in English with the multi-national students and staff residing there. When they ask her for directions, she could only shake her head in incomprehension.

Her daughters learnt about her difficulties and recommended that she register for the Workplace Literacy (Conversational) Course under the Workfare-Skill Up programme offered by WDA. 

Valuing Older Workers

It’s a home-away-from-home feeling for senior workers with the elderly-friendly work environment at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport hotel. “We truly value our older employees and recognise their contributions to the hotel,” said General Manager Steven Chan.

As part of Crowne Plaza’s pre-opening strategy to implement a sustainable re-employment system in the hotel, Crowne Plaza tapped on the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA)’s Capability Development and Training Grant to be an in-house Approved Training Organisation and deliver WSQ (Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications) training to staff.

“Our management priorities are to align employees’ skill sets with industry standards and provide them with the relevant accreditations required to excel in their work,” he said. “We understand that the right training will greatly improve their employability and encourage them to continue being gainfully employed even past their retirement years.”

Not Afraid To Explore the Unknown

Koh Ho Peng stumbled on opportunities in the aviation industry by chance and he was glad he took the plunge. “Sometime in early 2009, during a chat with a family friend, he happened to talk about WDA’s Professional Conversion Programme,” Ho Peng said. “He told me about the Foundation Degree to train people to become qualified aircraft engineers and he urged me to explore this avenue since I’ve always been interested in engineering.”

Stirred by his friend’s sharing, Ho Peng decided to find out more about the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP), which assists professionals in switching to new occupations in other industries. He was immediately attracted to its comprehensive training programme and felt assured by its allowance scheme.

“As the family’s sole breadwinner, and with two children in school, I have to be very careful about any career move. I discussed with my wife and she supported me as we felt that the PCP could help me realise my ambition,” Ho Peng remembered.

A Desire To Help

About five years back, Cecilia was looking for a job that suited her personality. She wanted to help people find avenues they can excel in, and develop their abilities through their various life stages. Having had a few opportunities to take on human resource management (HRM) responsibilities, she decided this was the area that she would like to develop further.

“Human resource management encompasses a very wide field. But it is essentially about helping people and the organisation,” Cecilia shared. “When I look around me, I see a lot of people having the desire to move to the next stage of their career or in their personal development, and I want to be in the position to help them.”

With that conviction, she took on a management-support role in a medical education organisation, handling human resource matters and sponsorship for Clinicians and Postgraduates.

A Heart For The Underprivileged

When he was younger, Clement was often puzzled when he heard the story of the boy who rescued starfish by throwing them back into the sea. He just could not see how this would help the thousands of starfish that were swept ashore by the currents.

Today, as a social worker, Clement finally understands what the boy was getting at. “Like the boy, we may not be able to help everybody, but the important thing is to help who we can,” Clement reflected. “In Singapore, despite our rapid economic progress, there are families who are left behind and they struggle to keep afloat financially. Though not often in the public eye, their plight is very real and is made worse by the current economic pressures.”

In Clement’s work, he assists families who are in a tight spot financially by helping them apply for short term financial assistance and guiding them in working out a long term plan for self reliance. Besides that, he also provides emotional support, basic counselling, as well as link beneficiaries up with other community resources.

Marathon Job Search

Tertiary-educated Tan Wei Thong, a management professional for 15 years, never believed he would give up his Shanghai job as Business Unit Director with a main-board listed company. But when there were early signs that his two primary school going sons were slackening in their studies, Wei Thong decided to return to Singapore.

“The thought of relocating back to Singapore surfaced when I realised my elder son was struggling with his studies,” he said. “I guessed my wife also missed my pair of extra hands, be it in the children’s education, ferrying them for enrichment courses or sharing the household burden.”

However, it never crossed his mind on the need to be retrained in order to fit into the Singapore workforce. Returning to Singapore after his seven-year overseas stint, stark reality hit him as he endured a heart-breaking eight months before he found a new job.

Giving Older Workers an ADVANTAGE!

There’s a refreshingly new sparkle at St Luke’s Eldercare (SLEC), an extension project of St Luke’s Hospital, and one of the largest eldercare facilities in Singapore. The new buzz comes after they got hold of the ADVANTAGE! Scheme and were able to enhance their work processes for the benefit of their older workers, with more than 40% of its employees aged 55 and above.

Currently, SLEC have 11 centres island wide and has been providing quality day care, active rehab and wellness services to the elderly and seniors in the community since 2001. Since they signed on to the scheme, SLEC has significantly improved the work processes of their staff.

“We’ve benefitted from improvements in the job processes of the employees. Through mechanisation of tasks and the enhancement of the processes, the heavy weight borne by our mature employees is reduced and the overall efficiency and safety have increased,” said SLEC Operations Manager Sia Jia Hui. “This ultimately translates, very significantly, to better care for the elderly.”

‘Forklift’ To A New Life

Mohamed Hardi Bin Abdullah calls it the “turning point in my life” when he passed the five-day forklift driver training course at PSA Corporation. Prior to that, the eight-letter word “forklift” was foreign to him as the 33-year-old was only accustomed to the hotel-service industry, where he was a Bell Captain until his hotel was taken over by a new management in 2009.

“I jumped from one contract job to another, rather aimlessly, as I had to make ends meet at home,” recalled the father of a four-year-old girl, who lives in Jurong West. And it was while working at one of these jobs that he found out that most of his colleagues had a forklift licence.

“I asked them further on the job-scope, career advancement and pay-structure as I was not familiar with the warehouse industry. The more I asked, the more interesting and challenging answers I got,” he said. “I later found out that it cost $500 to obtain a forklift licence. This was way beyond my budget.”

Finance Executive Turned Tourism Ambassador

Five years ago, Vany Ramakrishnan would never have dreamt of working in a resort. “I was working in a bank then and I loved the buzz in the finance world,” Vany recalled. “My job gave me lots of interesting exposure, but I wanted to do something where I could meet and connect with people on a face-to-face level.”

Encouraged by the opportunities and growth in the tourism industry, Vany explored her options for a career switch where she discovered the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) – which helps professionals switch to new occupations in other industries. On the advice of the PCP consultants from the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS), she took up the WSQ Diploma in Tourism to prepare herself for the tourism industry.

“I’m really glad I went through the diploma programme first,” Vany shared. “The course gave me a good understanding of the different facets of tourism and the areas I could work in. On top of that, I had the chance to have some hands-on industrial experience before making the switch. This really increased my confidence when I went for job interviews.”

Keeping Ideas Alive With Fresh Perspectives

Bernard loves his job. Though the hours are long and the schedule uncertain at times, he would never change it for another.

“I design floral arrangements for walk-in customers, and events such as weddings. I also fulfill weekly orders for companies and hotels. What makes me look forward to work everyday is that no two flower arrangements are the same,” Bernard reflected.

In every project he undertakes, Bernard considers the customer’s budget and preferences, and the nature of the event. He also makes it a point to include a special element in every arrangement, be it the kind of flowers or the supporting material used.

Outside of work, he takes on every opportunity to sharpen his skills by pitting himself against top-notch florists. Over the years, his passion has seen him win the “Florist of the Year” in Green Thumbs 2009, 2010, 2011 and the second prize in the Floral Designers Society (Singapore) Cup in 2006, 2008, 2010.

Switching between parallel worlds

 You are an art thief who learnt by chance that there is a glove with the power to create time rifts. Breaking into the museum, you unknowingly caused a catastrophe that has transported you to a parallel universe. You need to go back in time to fix your wrongs and place things back to what they used to be...

And that sums up the plot of VOID, a first-person puzzle game where players switch between parallel worlds to overcome obstacles. Created by team Minus5, a group of students that recently graduated from the DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore, the game prototype won the "Excellence in Technology" award and the "Best Student Game" in the Independent Games Festival (IGF) China.

Forming the team Minus5 are six students – Zoel Gan, Ravindran Mark, Tan Chee Ming, Chan Sin Huan, Leau Tat Sin and Zou Xinru, who attended the WSQ DigiPen-Ubisoft Campus programme. A collaborative effort between DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore, Ubisoft Singapore, and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), it is a 10-month course comprising both academic and production phases. Graduates are provided with the necessary knowledge and industry production experience that they need to join the competitive video game industry.

A total of 6 games were developed through 3 cohorts and here are the other five. Do give them a try!