When Shaifulazli Ghazali first joined ST Engineering, he was just an apprentice equipped with a National ITE Certificate in Aircraft Maintenance.
Today, 23 years later and still working for the same company, he is a training instructor who can also code programmes. In addition, the 44-year-old has recently developed three mobile applications that his work department uses.
His achievements and value-add to his company would not be possible without his drive and perseverance to attend courses and gain new skills.
Shaiful, as his friends and colleagues call him, was already gaining recognition as a hard worker – and an even harder learner.
When he started his career as an apprentice, he would put in extra hours after work, not for the money but for the experience.
“You can end work at 5.30 pm. But if you continue work beyond that, you can learn the ‘after-hours tips and tricks.’ From there, I managed to get more experience and exposure,” Shaiful explained.
The extra experience he was getting after work was on top of the in-house courses his company had sent him.
He became a technician in 2001. But after four years of work, his perseverance paid off when he became the first in his cohort to be promoted to senior technician.
In 2010, two years after his promotion to leadman, ST Engineering recognised and awarded Shaiful as a model worker.
The company also promoted him to a trainer in 2015. He went through courses by NTUC LearningHub to get accredited to be a trainer.
Shaiful had to juggle both his work as a technician and a trainer. But it never deterred him because he said he has always been eager to learn new things.
He likes to learn so much that he even dabbles in coding. In 2020, Shaiful utilised the SkillsFuture initiative to enrol in coding and artificial intelligence courses.
With the skills he learned, he helped his department develop three mobile applications currently being piloted.
One of the applications is about on-job-training.
Shaiful said: “Last time, we used logbooks to record trainees’ achievements. Now, with the app’s development, they can digitally input the tasks they performed. My bosses or administrators can also get updates on trainees in real-time.”
Another application he developed is the scheduling experience collection for trainee engineers.
Before the app’s development, trainees would have to manually log the number of hours they worked on an aircraft each day. Now, the trainees can log the data through the application almost immediately.
Shaiful said this application helps a trainee save about 30 minutes a day throughout their apprenticeship.
Shaiful reckons that he has attained approximately 20 certificates and attended 40 courses throughout his career.
He also recently attended a focus group discussion organised by NTUC to gather views on workers’ continuous career progression and development.
Shaiful said: “Employers and employees need to recognise that training is necessary.
“Employees will be more skilled and productive. And on the other hand, employers will get a more productive workforce who can make better quality products in a safer environment. All these can translate to better revenue for the company.”
While Shaiful hopes more workers will embrace lifelong learning, he also hopes employers can anticipate how to help workers upgrade their skills and progress in their careers.
The focus group discussion was part of the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations, a larger-scale series of engagements by the Labour Movement to engage all workers across various life stages.
To participate in the #EveryWorkerMatters Conversations, visit conversations.ntuc.sg.
