This Mother Of Two Is Upskilling To Start Her Own Security Firm
This Mother Of Two Is Upskilling To Start Her Own Security Firm
Janet Tan has worn multiple hats throughout her life. From juggling her role as a police officer for 14 years and being a mother of two — she is now embarking on an upskilling journey to fulfill her dream of opening a security firm with her sister. Here’s how NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB) is supporting her endeavour.
From every ending comes a new beginning, and Janet’s inspiring story of upskilling starts with her leaving her job as a police officer. Pivoting to manage her family’s scaffolding business that also involves housing migrant workers in dormitories, it was her empathetic nature of wanting to better communicate with her staff in the workplace that ignited the very first spark of her upskilling journey.
Taking the first step
Janet began her journey with NTUC LHUB by enrolling in the SkillsFuture for Digital Workplace (SFDW) course to improve her skill sets and interpersonal skills.
“The course took place over two days on Zoom and provided real-life scenarios on how to communicate with people in the workplace effectively. It was my first course with NTUC LHUB and it left me with a great impression as the trainer was very detailed, and introduced digital collaborative learning tools which was something new for me to explore.”
“What I also appreciated was how NTUC LHUB listed the details of the coursework, module schedules and timings very clearly which made it easy for me to apply.”
Working towards a goal
After completing the course, Janet started looking into other upskilling opportunities.That was when the NTUC LHUB Security Academy caught her attention. Going through the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) and the different levels of career progression that she can achieve in the security sector, Janet quickly realised that not only was there an actionable roadmap for her to upskill herself and become a better security professional — this would also give her the skill sets and qualification to pursue her long-cherished dream of opening a security firm with her sister.
In order to fulfill the requirements to obtain a security license to start the business, Janet decided to continue her upskilling journey with NTUC LHUB under the PWM track, using her SkillsFuture credit and subsidies from NTUC Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP).
“I found the coursework to be manageable, and my prior work experience definitely played a big part in allowing me to understand some of the modules more easily. The security courses were conducted face-to-face, and they included real-life demonstrations and role-playing which were incredibly helpful in my learning. Some of the professional trainers were former police officers and division leaders who shared their own working experiences for us to gain better insights to what we were being taught. It was a really nurturing learning environment.”
Being a former police officer, Janet was exempted from some basic modules. For security courses, she has successfully completed the Senior Security Officer (SSO) modules and is in the midst of completing her Senior Security Supervisor (SSS) security course. Janet is aiming to get the diploma certificate after completing the Chief Security Officer (CSO) course by the end of this year.
Bonding through extraordinary times
What made the learning experience at NTUC LHUB special for Janet, was how the act of enjoying a simple lunch box created many wonderful friendships and memories for her. Due to the pandemic, NTUC LHUB provided takeaway lunch boxes for students to encourage them to dine-in. As such, the class spent more time revising, bouncing off ideas, and bonding over lunch while keeping to the stipulated safe management guidelines.
“To this day, we still have a Whatsapp group chat which we use to discuss best practices and arrange to register for subsequent security courses together!”
Applying new skills to work
With the new knowledge acquired from her upskilling journey, modules that she took such as Security Risk Analysis has provided Janet with clearer insights on how to assess and address her dormitory environment for potential security breaches, and implement the necessary improvements to ensure the safety of her workers.
Besides setting up a security firm, Janet hopes that in the near future, she will be able to retrain some of her migrant workers to become future security officers. Some of them hold Bachelor or Master’s degrees from their home country and are fluent in English.
When asked about her opinion on lifelong learning for older Singaporeans, Janet has some advice.
“Sometimes, we are mentally stuck in a box, and do not dare to take the first step to learn something new.”
“Be bold and move forward. No one is ever too old to learn.”
Since 2004, NTUC LearningHub has upskilled over 21,000 organisations and achieved over 2.6 million training places across more than 500 courses with a pool of over 400 certified trainers. We are the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore and we are here to transform your lifelong employability.
For more information on how we can help, visit our Virtual Roadshow or talk to our friendly Course Consultants by reserving a Virtual Live Advisory appointment today.
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