Yesterday I was offered an opportunity to particpiate a six months full-time attachment programme as
a Devops & Automation Engineer
I applied for the position last Friday, received a call on Monday afternoon, got an online interview and offer that same evening. Wow, that was fast and furious – exactly my pace!
First, I'm grateful to be a Singaporean as our government is creating programmes to help us get back on track. I felt SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme is specially designed for the current me at 40. Alright, 41 this year.
COVID-19 slowed down my Real Estate business. I wouldn't blame it entirely because my business is already slow before that. The pandemic just gave me a strong reason to look elsewhere.
So last year I took up a five months Digital Marketing Course which is a Skills Ignition SG Programme. And recently the Python Course from Google and another Python course from Mosh. I find myself leaning towards IT sector. I'm not surprise since I'm curious about technology by default. I told myself this year I need to find an IT-related job. A role that will make me feel excited.
Despite taking many IT courses throughout the years, techincally I still have zero working experience in the IT industry. And starting a new career from scratch at age 41 with a family requires a lot, a lot of courage and confident. But even with that, how many company is willing to hire someone older with zero experience and more costly? Even a fresh grad's education is more qualifying for the job.
This is where SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme for Mid-Career Individuals comes in. Like a super hero to save my day, or my career. In this six months attachment programme, our government is funding up to 90% of the training allowance (70% from 1 April 2022 onwards). Thanks Ah Gong!
Organisations from different industry will host the attachment programme, create development plans for people like me to gain meaningful industry-relevant skills and experience. At the end of the programme, the organisation may decide to offer a full-time role if the trainee is suitable for the position. The trainee may also take this opportunity to access if the job is a good fit. I say it's a win win win.
Now please excuse me, I got a job to do!