It is not always easy to determine the career ladder that you’ll be climbing for the rest of your life, particularly so when you have to make that decision while you’re still in your teens.
Timothy Tay was one such individual. During his tertiary education, it seemed like he was destined for a lifelong career in engineering. It was only after he had joined the workforce for a couple of years that he realised an engineer’s life was not quite what he was looking for.
“I feel that not everyone knows what they are good at or what they can do early on in life,” said the 33-year-old.
Thus began his journey of self-discovery. He first tried dabbling in digital marketing for a couple of years before finally settling down at a local financial institution as a data analyst.
But his journey was not without its challenges. He shared that for mid-career switchers such as himself, knowing what skills to possess in order to make the switch was not a straightforward affair.
“It would be great if we knew beforehand what to prepare ourselves in order to meet the needs of the workforce … It was not easy to find the right courses to bridge the gap as well,” he shared.
From the employer’s point of view, he also hoped that companies will be more open to new career hires, which will allow mid-career switchers to pivot more easily between industries.
Timothy was one of many youth workers who shared their concerns in a pre-engagement session leading up to the launch of the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations.
The conversations are part of the latest initiative by NTUC to renew its compact with workers, and for the Labour Movement to better understand workers concerns surrounding their jobs at a more intimate level.
Beyond the challenges that he faced, Timothy shared those other participants also voiced out concerns on issues such as work-life balance, and flexible work arrangements for working mothers – just to name a few.
But for NTUC to come up with more conclusive recommendations to its tripartite partners, it needs more workers like Timothy to come forward share their concerns.
On what he hopes will come out of the conversations, Timothy said: “I hope that the workforce will be more adaptable, that we will be more resilient to change, especially post COVID.
“Personally, I hope workplace culture will be better in terms of us having more flexibility to juggle work and life at the same time, and for workers to able to explore what their passions or interests.”
Find out more about the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations at conversations.ntuc.sg.
