Mid-Career Switcher: Mr Edwin Wong

Mr Edwin Wong is an avid computer lover. Since young, he likes to play computer games and also check out the various components of the computer. “I like to know how the computer works. I will disseminate the parts and put them back again. It fascinates me when I am able to figure out which components make up the computer; and how they function in order for the equipment to operate normally,” shared Edwin.

Edwin gradually moved on and found a job in Information Technology (ICT) upon graduation. He started out as an Assistant System Engineer and was promoted to the Senior Engineer thereafter. This went on for 3 years and he decided to set up his own company specialising in computer servers. “I was keen in managing business, hence decided to start my own business doing something I like.”

Managing a business wasn’t easy, and Edwin knew that he needs to constantly upgrade his skills in order to stay abreast. He took the opportunity to upgrade his ICT skills, at the same time attended workshops and seminars to learn more on business management. With vast experiences in networking and systems for close to 20 years, he decided to take up networking courses to upgrade his skills further.

Edwin shared: “My business wasn’t doing well at that time, and I thought to myself – I have to upgrade my skills to stay competitive in this industry. Using my SkillsFuture Credits, I took up the NICF – Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician (CCENT) and NICF – Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) with NTUC LearningHub (LHUB). The courses were very insightful and I learned a lot of new skills. I am also thankful to my trainer, Mr Soh Thien Thu. He is committed to teaching us and always there for us when we needed help throughout the courses.”

Edwin completed the courses and with the help of Mr Soh, he was recommended to the role of System Integrator in his current company. He secured the job and is now promoted to the Tech Support Manager of the company. Besides managing servers, systems, supporting clients’ technology support issues daily, Edwin has to manage 9 staff under his team too. Every day is a busy day for him, but he looks forward to work daily and will consider taking up courses related to cyber and network security in future.