@thebottomsupblog said:

@sharonkhoo Thank you

Btw I came across a video about a sewing studio (in an HDB flat), where they hold classes!

https://www.tiktok.com/@togather_sg/video/7678659884090543367?_r=1&_t=ZS-99KrW6Ljtpq

LinkedIn quite often gives a month-long trial for their premium membership, where I think you will also be able to access their learning courses!

For the next month or two, I’m going to focus on trying out pickleball and dance, for starters!

I saw the add for home tutoring - still thinking about it…

I got the answer from NLB - I was using my library password instead of the default password (birth year!). My mistake. And LinkedIn Learning is free if you log in through NLB.

I’ve started swimming once a week. I can’t play anything that involves hand-eye coordination! And I gave up dance years ago - too uncoordinated.

Btw I came across a video about a sewing studio (in an HDB flat), where they hold classes!

https://www.tiktok.com/@togather_sg/video/7678659884090543367?_r=1&_t=ZS-99KrW6Ljtpq

LinkedIn quite often gives a month-long trial for their premium membership, where I think you will also be able to access their learning courses!

For the next month or two, I’m going to focus on trying out pickleball and dance, for starters!

@thebottomsupblog said:

I have finally completed my course!

Happy to share regarding these programmes and the actual employment leads that came about from them, if anyone is keen:

• Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling (RP) https://www.rp.edu.sg/lifelong-learning/courses/specialist-diploma-in-career-counselling/

• Specialist Diploma in Business Analytics (RP) https://www.rp.edu.sg/lifelong-learning/courses/specialist-diploma-in-business-analytics/

• Generation Singapore Bootcamp: Junior Data Engineer https://singapore.generation.org/sctp-jrdataengineer/

I’ve taken them all; maxed out my SkillsFuture like a good citizen

Congratulations! You’ve really done a lot!

I’ve been a bit busier the past few months with travelling, volunteering etc. I’ll still be rather busy till about late-Oct. I plan to do a couple of EdX courses (Just noted that my annual subscription runs out on 16 Oct!). I was thinking of doing a couple of LinkedIn Learning courses (free and short!) on AI uses through NLB, but then found that I am unable to access even though my login and password are correct. I’ve reported it, and hopefully they’ll get back to me.

Happy to share regarding these programmes and the actual employment leads that came about from them, if anyone is keen:

• Specialist Diploma in Career Counselling (RP) https://www.rp.edu.sg/lifelong-learning/courses/specialist-diploma-in-career-counselling/

• Specialist Diploma in Business Analytics (RP) https://www.rp.edu.sg/lifelong-learning/courses/specialist-diploma-in-business-analytics/

• Generation Singapore Bootcamp: Junior Data Engineer https://singapore.generation.org/sctp-jrdataengineer/

I’ve taken them all; maxed out my SkillsFuture like a good citizen

But in our fam, and with my networks, we do a lot of “just for fun” stuff

https://www.sirs.edu.sg/courses/sustainability/sustainability-ecommerce-business-for-companies

Other places that are dedicated to DIY fashion (and possible upcycling) seem pricey!

https://www.fashionmakerspace.com/collections/wsq-skillsfuture-sewing-classes

Will update if I spot any friends going for such workshops!

Learning to upcycle old clothes into new items might be fun!

Mine is a counselling-related course, and I felt that it was “easier” to grasp concepts, compared to a STEM course. When I did a STEM-related course, a lot of time was spent watching other videos on YouTube by other lecturers, in order to really understand what was being taught. (For example, when I did a stats module, I watched a lot of the full-length lectures on this channel: https://www.youtube.com/professorleonard)

This being said, we still had to put in a lot of effort for this counselling course, to do our essays and q&a interviews to walk through our work, as well as mock counselling sessions.

For anything at degree or post-grad level, it would probably require even more energy and commitment!

Would love to hear from other parents who are doing diploma/degree courses currently, especially while working full-time or part-time! What made you choose your course, and what do you hope to do with what you’ve gained, once you graduate?

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However, I feel that there are still enough short-term courses that can be taken for fun, like street photography (my husband did that over two weekends) and sketching at places like NAFA.

During my early motherhood phase, I did start this little initiative with my moms’ network, where we paid one another $20 to learn a skill, and this included sewing! Maybe among ourselves, we should start our own community initiatives.

Perhaps there could be another category of SF courses which are not so work-related, which are subsidised but to a lesser extent? I’d love to be able to do some craft-type courses, or even repair/mending courses, not necessarily to start a business, but just for myself and others? I recently tried to sign up for a clothes-mending/upcycling course, but found that although it’s listed under SF, it can only be taken as part of a much longer and expensive course intended for those who want to start a business!

This came up recently as a conversation topic, when an MP questioned if SkillsFuture should cover courses like wine appreciation:

One take was that this is a very narrow view of the “SkillsFuture mission.” In fact I heard that a manager/director type actually encourages her team to go for such courses, to better relate to high net worth individuals!

Personally, I think that we can (and should) split our time between upskilling and having some fun. That’s what makes us interesting. In fact, later in the year, I’m planning to sign up for dance and rock drumming classes, but those aren’t covered by SkillsFuture!

By now, I’ve taken 3 programmes that are marketed to career switchers, and just to share some tips about outcomes, based on my personal experience:

• Ideally, choose courses based on personal interest, but temper your expectations about job placements. It’s healthier to view each course that you take as a stepping stone towards a new path, as opposed to guaranteed employment.

• Placement success rates will vary by cohorts; anecdotally, those over 50 years old will likely experience job hunting challenges, especially for tech-related roles. Depending on job availability, offered placements may not be in an area related to the training course that you took. However, these may still be rare opportunities to work in MNCs or emerging smaller firms, so it’s good to keep an open mind.

• Ageism exists. Some advice that I’ve personally received: remove all dates from resumes, trim work experience to about 10 years, and expect a low response rate for applications (when I was trying to look for a career switch role, my callback rate was about 12% and I was told it was actually not too bad for that season).

• Job hunting can drag on for months, and this will usually take a toll on your morale, especially if your financial contribution to the family is needed. It’s important to have your support networks in place.

• In every course/programme, there are success stories… don’t be too swayed by these. Ultimately, your ability to thrive depends on your own skill set, personality, and drive. Be flexible about what it means to “succeed”: there are also individuals who return to their previous industries to take on different opportunities with their new skills/perspectives!

No fault of the instructor, it’s more that I don’t have the patience for fiddly things, and tend to wing it!

For everyone else sharing any feedback on courses, do feel free to post the link of the course that you did, and also to let us know honestly what you liked and didn’t like regarding the teaching style, schedule, etc.

These are two courses that I’ve audited on edX, but they don’t fall in the typical “fun” category. I enjoyed them tremendously though!

Harvard’s CS50 — beginner computer science course, the lecturer is superb at making classes come alive: https://www.edx.org/cs50

I used this to prep for my business analytics specialist dip, and be less afraid of numbers. I found this very reassuring! https://www.edx.org/learn/statistics/university-of-notre-dame-i-heart-stats-learning-to-love-statistics

@sharonkhoo Could you share the link for this course? Yes I would’ve been much more informed in many areas, if we had gotten access to all of this in our schooldays!

It’s included in the annual subscription to EdX which I used my expiring SF credits on last year.

I just checked, and it seems you can audit the course free but you won’t get a certificate or completion (if that matters to you!). You can pay for individual courses if you want to get a certificate. I have never tried it this way, but here’s the link:
https://www.edx.org/learn/art/universidad-carlos-iii-de-madrid-european-paintings-from-leonardo-to-rembrandt-to-goya?index=rv_product_summary&queryId=caec8aa9f24c397ded3b17d435d97917&position=1