Encouraged By Family To Return To Work

 

Carol had planned on having an early retirement and filling her days with a host of leisure activities. It was her son’s persuasion that made her re-think her plans.

“I had worked for many years at various organisations and I’d even run a food stall at a school previously, so I wanted to wind down and just relax,” she explained. “But, after resting for some time, my son felt I still had many productive years to go and with my vast working experience, he encouraged me to return to the workforce.”

With little computer knowledge and skills then, Carol was initially hesitant about looking for a job. But all that changed when she saw a poster at the South-West Community Development Council (CDC) encouraging people to step out and return to the workforce.

 

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.”

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.

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.”

‘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.”