{"id":129850,"date":"2022-11-17T15:31:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.microsoft.com\/?p=447751"},"modified":"2022-11-17T15:31:31","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T15:31:31","slug":"never-too-late-microsoft-generation-singapore-help-mid-career-job-seekers-pivot-to-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/11\/17\/never-too-late-microsoft-generation-singapore-help-mid-career-job-seekers-pivot-to-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Never too late: Microsoft, Generation Singapore help mid-career job seekers pivot to tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stepping out of her comfort zone was a big decision for Nelly Lee. The Singapore native and single mother built a successful 20-year career in the travel industry, where she was considered an expert in her field. Still, Lee felt the urge to reinvent herself, one that was accelerated by the global disruption of the travel industry in the aftermath of the pandemic.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking I should give myself a chance to see I could do something different to take care of my daughter and my parents,\u201d Lee said. \u201cYes, in my previous job, the knowledge and stability was all there. But I wanted to show myself that even though I don\u2019t have a degree in tech, that didn\u2019t matter.\u201d\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Changing careers mid-stream can be tough for anyone. There\u2019s an even higher degree of difficulty when moving into the technology field, where other applicants and co-workers have years of knowledge and hands-on experience. Generation Singapore wants to help level the playing field so everyone has a chance at a better career.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2020, Microsoft and Generation Singapore co-created #<\/span>GetReadySG<\/span><\/a>, a national skills initiative in partnership with several Singaporean government technology organizations. The initiative is designed to upskill and\/or reskill up to 1,000 job seekers over a two-year period and then match them with meaningful employment opportunities in tech. The program is designed for young professionals and mid-career switchers who want to gain in-demand digital skills at a subsidized cost.\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

As Lee considered making her career change, she learned about Generation Singapore. She consulted with her brother, a software engineer, before her second interview to find out more about the program. Soon after, Lee was admitted into #GetReadySG, where she began learning skills that would benefit her move into the tech sector.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got into the course, it was so alien to me,\u201d Lee recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what a virtual machine was. I would screen share with my brother to help me get a better understanding. I\u2019d ask him, \u2018What is this?\u2019 \u2018What is that?\u2019 But I started to slowly digest things.\u201d\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the classroom work, Lee learned valuable skills during her internship, which all participants in the program must complete.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis program is very different from others where you take a course and at the end of the day you go and search for your own job,\u201d Lee said. \u201cBecause of the apprenticeship you get a six-month chance to learn and adapt to the working world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Nelly Lee decided to switch careers in order to make enough money to eventually buy a new home for herself and her young daughter. Photo by Ore Huiying for Microsoft.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The #GetReadySG program also provides participants with the opportunity to be mentored by tech industry professionals as they approach the start of their internship and plan for full-time work. Lee was paired with Sindhu Chengad, an Azure and Open Source business leader in Microsoft\u2019s Singapore office, and they developed a relationship that proved valuable for both parties, especially because it can be difficult for women to have female role models.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working together for the last six months,\u201d Chengad said. \u201cI know how challenging it can be to keep a career on track, and I\u2019ve always found it helpful when people have taken a chance on me and helped guide me. Nelly\u2019s story is such an inspiring story. For a mom to think about disrupting her own career to come into a completely new space and to upskill yourself is super challenging. I\u2019m super proud of where Nelly started and where she is today.\u201d\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

As Lee worked through her internship, she set her sights on a full-time job, one in which she could earn a better salary with the goal of moving into her own home. She quickly landed a DevOps position supporting a large international technology company that allows her to work from home and take on a variety of technical challenges.\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do something more technical because I find it more interesting,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI do a lot of server work, deployment, fixing bugs. There\u2019s still a lot of learning going on. But my team is very patient and they explain many things. It\u2019s very comforting and it makes me feel like I can contribute more.\u201d\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The #GetReadySG program has placed hundreds of graduates in several tech companies throughout Singapore, giving well-trained individuals a chance to fill the gaps in human resources that many companies in the country have been dealing with over the past few years.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>There\u2019s a tremendous amount of commitment and resilience that every graduate brings into this program. It\u2019s indeed a tough journey to break barriers in switching to a new career, that\u2019s why I\u2019m really proud of them,\u201d said Prateek Hegde, CEO of Generation Singapore. \u201cWe might have a well-designed program and supported them all the way, but majority of the credit goes to every individual who persevered throughout every process and gave their best. I hope to witness more women follow Nelly\u2019s footsteps.\u201d<\/span>\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

For Lee, the decision to switch careers was life-changing, and she urges others in her position to consider betting on themselves and learning the skills needed to enter the tech industry.\u202f\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is totally out of what people think of me,\u201d Lee said. \u201cMany people didn\u2019t think I would make this step. But I am very happy. It\u2019s an achievement for myself.\u201d\u202f<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Top image: Nelly Lee took advantage of <\/span>GetReadySG<\/span>, a national skills <\/span>initiative <\/span>co-created by Microsoft and Generation Singapore, to retrain for a career in technology after 20 years in the travel industry.<\/span> She now works in DevOps supporting a large international technology company.<\/span> Photo by Ore <\/span>Huiying<\/span> for Microsoft.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stepping out of her comfort zone was a big decision for Nelly Lee. The Singapore native and single mother built a successful 20-year career in the travel industry, where she was considered an expert in her field. Still, Lee felt the urge to reinvent herself, one that was accelerated by the global disruption of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-129850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-microsoft-news","tag-recent-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}