Seizing Opportunities and Leveraging S$4,000 SkillsFuture Credits Top-Up to Upskill in Digital Marketing

 

Oh Chin Ling

Alumni of NIE/2010
Head of Enrolment and Marketing at Indigo Education Group
Completed (SCTP) Advanced Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing

Please share with us your professional background and why you enrolled in the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme (SCTP).

My background was just a teacher, so I had limited skills when I joined the corporate world. As my company challenged me to take on an additional marketing portfolio, I started exploring the realm of digital marketing and social media. I realised that I needed to enhance my skills in this area since it was new to me. Being able to integrate my teaching skills with my understanding of education in the world of digital marketing would give me an edge compared to other digital marketers in the same industry.


How did the SkillsFuture Credit (Mid-Career) top-up of S$4,000 encourage you to take up the programme?

I believe the amount I had to pay out-of-pocket was around S$200. Had it been the full programme fee that I had to pay, I would not have taken the leap. The full programme fee was approximately S$10,000, and as a parent of two young children, this out-of-pocket expense would make me think twice. However, the SkillsFuture Credit has helped to offset the programme cost, making the decision to enrol easier.


Describe your learning experience with this programme.

My programme instructors understood our diverse work experiences and allowed us the flexibility to apply our knowledge in assignments, discussions, and case studies. This approach was not rigid and made the learning experience very meaningful. They allowed us to adjust the projects to meet our work needs, allowing us to use our research for assignments and apply it to our work. The instructors are skilled enough not to insist that we use their preferred platforms but to allow us to use platforms that suit our work better. The assignment formats are designed so that we can easily apply our skills in the real world, which is realistic and makes the learning journey a lot more relevant.


How has your current career benefited from this programme?

At first, I was apprehensive because I was concerned about balancing my time with my children and completing assignments on time. The multiple-choice questions enhance our learning experience by encouraging reflection and allowing multiple attempts to retake them. This approach helps us value the learning journey over just the outcomes. The lectures are held on Zoom, making attendance and participation convenient. The programme is thoughtfully organised, allowing me to directly apply the templates from my assignments to my work environment.


Will you recommend PaCE@NTU’s programmes to your friends and family?

Yes, my friends and family believe that the programmes resemble those they took in school, considering them outdated and unproductive. Yet, I have come to understand from my experience that these programmes are tailored to enhance our professional growth and impact our jobs. The instructors are practitioners, not just theorists, so I believe my friends and family will find them highly beneficial.