Introducing Siti — The LHubber with a Heart
What drives you to do what you do? For Siti, a former teacher and current programme executive at NTUC LearningHub, it’s all about watching people grow.
Full of vigour and full of heart, Siti works closely with NTUC LearningHub’s sales team to process and follow up on a burgeoning number of corporate registrations. Specialising in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and service excellence courses, she frequently assists clients such as Keppel, SATS and Singapore Airlines.
Having worked in a variety of roles herself, Siti shows that fulfilment doesn’t necessarily lie in your job title. Rather, it’s about constantly developing yourself so that you can fulfil the work that fulfils you.
From childhood to adult education
Aspiring to be a teacher from an early age, Siti began her career by shaping the minds and hearts of the young in childcare. “To see a child develop from a toddler to K2 is something that is very fulfilling – from not being able to speak to doing calculations and identifying colours,” smiles Siti.
Although that initial chapter of her career took place nearly 10 years ago, her passion is still well and truly alive and has transitioned into her current work at NTUC LearningHub – the difference being that she’s now able to see adults grow and develop instead!
Reflecting upon a course which helps seniors learn the ways of using a tablet, Siti reminisces, “Seeing the growth of these people – from not knowing anything to being able to use a tablet – is something which I have also found to be very fulfilling.”
Learning to love learning
Siti’s time on the frontline of adult education has not only taught her that upgrading skills are a must, but that adaptive and technological skills, in particular, are more important than ever before. “You need to be open to change, or else it’ll be hard to stay in one place,” she advises.
“You need to be open to change, or else it’ll be hard to stay in one place.”
Siti
Considering the implications of Industry 4.0 – one being that it could well replace some of her administrative duties – Siti reminds us that it need not signify the end of our careers. “Robots can talk, but the way humans and robots communicate with one another is very different – it’s all about the personal touch!” she jokes. “So while we have to adapt to changes, we also have to embrace the change that happens around us.”
If anything, Siti views Industry 4.0 as a key motivator to improve ourselves. She maintains that we need to be “holistic” and become the “full package” to remain attractive to employers. This can be achieved by gaining skills for the digital age from training providers like NTUC LearningHub. In fact, many others are also seeing the importance of our ICT courses to gain a competitive edge in this digital landscape. “Our ICT courses are very popular at the moment,” she urges. “I can see that there are a lot of new registrations.” Given the popularity of ICT courses, she encourages employees to grab this learning opportunity as soon as they can.
Forging her own future
Embodying NTUC LearningHub’s vision of lifelong learning, Siti is already responding to Industry 4.0 by acquiring skills outside of administration. She has started learning more about planning from her current team and has a few other ideas up her sleeve — “Soft skills. Stress management!” she jokes. “Perhaps something related to IT, even though I’m not really savvy with IT!”
Looking long-term, Siti remains open to her initial dream of teaching – albeit, as a trainer – and cites that she would teach “relationship-building” as it is “the most important skill when it comes to service excellence.”
But in the meantime, she’ll keep on growing as she helps others to grow too. “As long as you have the heart to learn and to study hard, I believe you can go far,” encourages Siti. “There are a lot of alternate routes when it comes to education and it doesn’t really matter which route you take, as long as you end up where you want to be.”
This year, NTUC LearningHub celebrates 15 years of transforming people through accessible education. Since 2004, we have fulfilled over 2.3 million training places and transformed over 16,700 organisations.
Regardless of collar, age or nationality, we are here to help you get equipped with the relevant skills for Industry 4.0. For more information on how we can help, talk to our friendly Course Consultants at NTUC Trade Union House, Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability, LHUB @ Tampines Mall or any of our roadshows islandwide.
You Might Like This
Blog 3: First Blog Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since 1966, when designers at Letraset and James Mosley, the librarian at St Bride Printing Library in London, took a 1914 Cicero translation and scrambled it to make dummy text for Letraset's Body Type sheets.
Brewing a New Chapter Through Lifelong Learning
Sheena brings more than a decade of experience in the retail and education sector, where she managed multiple retail outlets specialising in educational toys and oversaw day-to-day operations. Over time, she began to notice a shift. Customers were increasingly seeking more unique and experience-driven products, while the retail landscape itself was becoming more competitive and fast-changing. At the same time, Sheena observed a growing interest in more mindful and natural lifestyle products, which sparked her curiosity about opportunities within the Food & Beverages (F&B) space. With her experience largely rooted in traditional brick-and-mortar retail, Sheena made a deliberate decision to pursue her lifelong interest in F&B entrepreneurship. Inspired by her passion for floral and herbal infusions and her desire to create a brand of her own, she enrolled in the Flavourful Ventures: A Journey Into F&B Entrepreneurship course at NTUC LearningHub to turn her vision into a reality. Returning to the classroom was initially a challenge for Sheena, as she had not studied for a long time and found some of the learning processes unfamiliar. However, with guidance from her trainers and support from her classmates, she gradually adapted and grew more confident throughout the course. Throughout the programme, Sheena gained practical exposure to key aspects of building and managing an F&B business, including identifying business opportunities, product development, branding and bringing products into the market. The hands-on learning experience also gave her greater insight into creativity, innovation and customer engagement within the F&B industry. Beyond equipping her with practical entrepreneurial skills, the programme also broadened her perspective on what it takes to build and sustain a business in today’s competitive landscape. Sheena eventually went on to start her own tea brand, Tea Therapy Singapore, offering a distinct range of caffeine-free, unsweetened and 100% natural floral tea blooms. Through the course, she was able to turn a long-standing personal interest into something more tangible, gaining the confidence and practical knowledge needed to pursue her passion in the F&B space. The course also gave her a supportive space to experiment, learn from mistakes and grow her confidence as a first-time digital business owner. Today, she manages the business end-to-end, from sourcing raw materials to product design, branding and online sales, applying the skills and knowledge gained from the programme to shape and grow her business. Through the journey of building her brand, Sheena also came to appreciate the importance of lifelong learning, adaptability and continuously upgrading herself to stay relevant in an evolving business landscape. Looking ahead, Sheena remains committed to lifelong learning as she continues to grow both professionally and as a business owner, and plans to further develop her skills through NTUC LearningHub courses, including public speaking. Reflecting on her journey, she shares, “Learning is a lifelong journey. When we continue upgrading ourselves and apply what we learn, we can turn our passion into new opportunities.”
Taking the Next Step: A Mid-Career Digital Journey
At 49, Farizan has built a steady career in the services industry where she has worked for the past four years as a Sales Admin Executive, overseeing sales coordination, purchasing, logistics and finance support. Working closely with multiple departments, she ensures smooth daily operations and keeps workflows running efficiently within her organisation. While working hard to establish herself as a dependable, meticulous and consistent teammate, she could never shake the persistent feeling that she could further streamline her work processes by expanding her skillsets. As businesses moved deeper into digital transformation, Farizan took a step back to reflect on how she could remain relevant in Singapore’s highly competitive and dynamic economy. Through her own research on social media, she began to see the potential of technology to enhance efficiency and productivity in her daily responsibilities. Determined not to let comfort and familiarity stagnate her professional development, she seized the opportunity and enrolled in the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme (SCTP) Digital Marketing Specialist course at NTUC LearningHub after chancing upon it online. The structured and industry-relevant curriculum gave Farizan clearer insight into how digital strategies translate into real business impact. It also helped her better understand how campaigns are planned, executed and measured in today’s digital landscape. Farizan gained practical knowledge in digital marketing strategies, search engine optimisation (SEO), online copywriting, campaign analytics and online campaign management, areas she had always been curious about but had not had the opportunity to explore in her previous scope of work. The guidance from experienced trainers and the unique insights shared by coursemates from diverse industries further enriched her learning experience. By embracing the intensity of the knowledge-filled course, she was able to bring together the different concepts she had learned through the programme’s capstone project and apply them in a practical digital marketing scenario. Building on what she learned from the course, Farizan now approaches her role with a broader perspective. While she continues her core operational responsibilities, she has also taken on expanded responsibilities at work, supporting digital marketing initiatives, assisting in online campaign coordination and contributing insights to enhance customer engagement. These opportunities to apply her new skills have not only allowed her to add greater value to her team but has also strengthened her confidence in navigating change. This step forward marks just one of many in her journey of self-improvement and lifelong learning. Shortly after completing the programme, she began exploring other courses to further develop her data analytics capabilities, such as the Retail (SF): Data Science Fundamentals course. Recognising that others may still be on the fence about taking the first step, she shares, a mindset she now carries beyond the workplace and even onto the stage as a performer, “Do not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Learning new skills may feel challenging at first, but it opens new opportunities and builds confidence.”