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.”