Dear readers, it was heartening to hear from the Singapore Budget 2024 announcement that Singaporeans aged 40 and above with receive an additional S$4,000 SkillsFuture credit in May 2024.
The above initiative was over and above the SkillsFuture credit that the government has given to eligible working adults in previous years.
Despite being eligible for all these SkillsFuture credit, thus far, I have not signed up for any of the many courses that are eligible for the use of SkillFuture Credit.
I understand very well the good intent of these credits, which has to do with reskilling our workforce for the new skills that are in demand right now. But I have not used the credits precisely because I would want to have a clear aim of what I would want to achieve in terms of career development before I sign on any of the courses.
This is especially so as there are many various and diverse courses that SkillFuture credits can be used for, you see it could be even distracting with so many courses!
No doubt, I may have an interest in some of the courses, but to make practical good use of the credits, I would want to have the courses that I sign up for, using my Skillfuture credits, parlay into something useful for my career development.
There is no point taking a course for a once-off interest only if these interests are no sustainable over time or are not used to build up to something useful for one’s career development. And worse, investing invaluable time, time that is even more invaluable when one is working and balancing family commitments.
An put simply, no point in having many certifications or qualifications if an individual is not able to translate these practically for career-related moves or developments.
I believe this issue that I highlighted may be applicable to some as it is not a given that mature employees would know where they would like their career development to be focused on after many years in the sector.
It all boils down to what we truly want and then select the courses using our SkillFuture credits and work towards our goals.
Hence, only after I have decided what I want for my career development (and hopefully its not that long) will I commit to the SkillFuture courses.
I know there are some on the other camp who may disagree with me. This other camp may advocate trying out a number of different courses to find out whether one is interested or like the course before ultimating making a career of it.
No camp is right or wrong. It depends on individuals’ goals.