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Terry Koh’s life took an unfortunate turn when he was retrenched from his job in sales in the marine and offshore industry during the height of the pandemic. As a father of three young children, he was overwhelmed with worry that his family would not be able to manage solely on his wife’s income. Feeling despondent, he sought the advice of his peers to broaden his skill set to help boost his employability.

The 43-year-old took the retrenchment as an opportunity to reconsider his career aspirations, such as what sector he should pivot to, and the types of skills required. Thereafter, he came across the Digital Health, Safety and Environment Executive (HSE) course at NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB). After researching further, he discovered that there is a demand in digital health, and safety skills. This sparked his interest in the course. He also attributes the decision to eventually enrol in the course due to his wife, who works in the healthcare sector. Terry explains that through his wife, he began appreciating the importance of health and safety at the workplace.

He was determined to upgrade himself and reached out to a course consultant at NTUC LHUB, who readily assisted him. She advised him to leverage on his 20 years of experience in the sales sector and take this opportunity to expand his skill set. The certification in Digital HSE value-added to his employability and gave him a leg up in his job search. His newfound knowledge and skills coupled with his extensive years of experience in the sales sector landed him a job as an aftermarket sales manager in the wastewater management sector, where he was appointed to spearhead the company’s workplace safety and health (WSH) initiatives.

Confident with his repertoire of skills, he adds that he has been able to transfer his critical core skills, or soft skills in people management, negotiation and communication from his previous role into his current position. On how he was able to persevere during his job hunt, the tenacious individual shares, “Learning new knowledge and skills kept me positive while I was searching for employment after being retrenched. I stayed committed to my upskilling journey and when the opportunity arose, I was able to make full use of it to gain new employment.”

Besides nurturing his potential, Terry was also able to grow his network through the course as he got to connect with people from diverse walks of life, which comes in handy in his line of work. As he transitions into a new industry, he has completed his specialist Diploma in WSH and taken up several other courses including Manage Work at Height, First Aid and Develop a Risk Management Implementation Plan, to better equip himself with job-ready skills for his new role.

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