Mid-Career Switcher

“Security wasn’t my first choice of career. I changed my mindset after taking the courses at NTUC LearningHub (LHUB). I’m glad that I made the right move,” shared Ms Liew Jiew Chin when we interviewed her.

How many would actually switch from a hairstylist to a Security Officer? Well, Jiew Chin did. Born in Malaysia, she came over to Singapore more than 10 years ago and completed her Institute of Technical Education (ITE) education here.

Due to her personal interest, she took up hairdressing and became a hairstylist. As the competition gets stronger in recent years, she finds it harder to remain in the industry. “I feel that I need to know and learn more things, so that there is something for me to fall back on if I wish to move on. Hence I decided to check out the industry trends and the possible careers that I could explore in.”

Jiew Chin attended various career fairs and got to know about LHUB and also the courses which she could take. After much thinking, she decided to venture into the security industry – something that she had never considered before.

“I told myself – Security is something that is up and coming, and I could also get myself a job and progress from there. Why not just give it a try?” Hence, she signed up for the Basic Licensing Unit course with LHUB and begin her learning journey in Security.

It wasn’t easy for Jiew Chin in her learning process. The concepts were technical and new to her. She couldn’t understand what was taught. “I was lucky to have a good trainer, Mr Collin Mah, who helped me throughout the course. Knowing that I couldn’t grasp the concepts fast, he explained the concepts to me thoroughly and even asked one of my fellow classmates to explain what was taught to me. This helps and reinforce what I learned. Roleplaying is another component of the curriculum which I enjoyed, as I could relate and apply what I learned into use,” shared Jiew Chin.

Upon completing the course, Jiew Chin got a job and is currently a Security Officer in one of the tourist attractions. She looks forward to attending more courses to upgrade herself, especially in areas of Infocomm Technology (ICT) in the near future. During her free time, she would spend time with her family, and also encourage her friends to take up courses to upgrade themselves. “Put your heart and mind into learning and you can achieve it. It is definitely not easy initially, but it’s not hard to achieve as long as you work towards the end result.”

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