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While many look forward to retirement as an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and take up a new hobby, Carol Chiang does not share the same sentiment. This spritely 70-year-old security officer says nothing makes her happier than going to work. She loves her job and intends to continue working and stay employable for as long as possible.

Carol’s story may sound familiar to many of us. She spent 17 years in the advertising industry, a job she thoroughly enjoyed, reinforcing her desire to continue working even as she had to retire. She began picking up new skills even before officially retiring to boost her employability.

She set her sights on entering the security industry as she wanted to join the police force back when she was a little girl. She signed up for security courses at NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB) to pick up new skills and earn the certifications to meet the job requirements.

While she faced teething challenges at the beginning of her career in the security industry, she never gave up and took it in her stride. She quips a quote in Chinese, which translates to "Walk one step, see one step", meaning one should not worry too much about the future but take things one step at a time.

She thinks there is still much to learn in her job and what keeps her going is that she enjoys her work, and the people at her workplace are caring and supportive. She reinforces that one must not be too greedy for money and be grateful for opportunities. She adds, “Some of my colleagues have worked for 10 years in the company, you can learn a lot from them, so one needs to be humble”.

While most of her age is slowing down, Carol takes life by the horn and charges ahead. She does not think her age is a barrier and wants to keep learning for as long as possible. She sees learning as an enabler to better pay and job opportunities. Recently, she took up the Senior Security Officer Supervisory course as part of her continuous learning journey and found the Deterrence (Perform Security Duties At Protected Areas And Protected Places) course especially helpful in boosting her employability and expanding her scope of work.

Carol’s fearlessness in pursuing lifelong learning has brought her a sense of fulfilment. She does worry about the future and considers learning a part and parcel of life to keep herself mentally and physically active.

Reach out to our Skills Consultants to find out more about how you can transform your life through learning today!