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.