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Studying and getting the right start in her career

With the Work-Study Post-Diploma at Republic Polytechnic, Ms Lim Si Ying is acquiring skills that help her to excel in her job as a junior system engineer.

Ms Lim Si Ying benefitted from the Work-Study Post-Diploma (WSPostDip) programme, which helps polytechnic graduates who meet the criteria attain industry-recognised post-diploma qualifications while receiving on-the-job mentoring and training. Photo: Republic Polytechnic

Ms Lim Si Ying benefitted from the Work-Study Post-Diploma (WSPostDip) programme, which helps polytechnic graduates who meet the criteria attain industry-recognised post-diploma qualifications while receiving on-the-job mentoring and training. Photo: Republic Polytechnic

Sometimes, graduation leaves you feeling a little uncertain about your next step.

Ms Lim Si Ying, who graduated from Republic Polytechnic (RP) last May with a Diploma in Information Technology, was weighing up her options. She was interested in enrolling in a part-time degree programme but was unsure which course to take up. She was also considering if she should take a break before continuing her education. 

She approached Ms Sharmila Kanna, one of her former lecturers at RP, for advice, and was introduced to the Work-Study Post-Diploma (WSPostDip) programme. 

This initiative makes it possible for polytechnic graduates who are within three years of their graduation date (or Operationally Ready Date for full-time National Servicemen) to attain an industry-recognised post-diploma qualification while receiving mentorship and training on jobs related to their field of study.

BACK TO SCHOOL, AFTER GRADUATION

During her final-year Industry Preparation for Pre-graduate (iPREP) programme for her diploma studies, Ms Lim learnt about cloud infrastructure, a topic that she found fascinating. This interest, coupled with Ms Sharmila’s guidance, eventually led her to pursue the one-year Specialist Diploma in DevOps in June 2021. 

Ms Lim began her career as a junior system engineer at 1Cloudstar and joined the Work-Study Post-Diploma (Specialist Diploma in DevOps), a joint programme between Republic Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic. After office hours, she attends three-hour lessons thrice a week at RP’s Academy for Continuing Education at Woodlands.

Ms Lim said: “The learning curve was steep during the first few months, but the knowledge gained from the iPREP course at RP helped me to overcome it. 

“One of my main tasks at work is to provide cloud infrastructure resources for customers based on their requirements. After that, I need to deploy and monitor applications using these cloud resources. I am happy to share that with my knowledge and skillsets, I am able to complete all tasks with minimum support from my supervisor.”

Ms Lim was later roped in to support DevOps projects that help to automate applications and services. Through DevOps, businesses can look forward to an improved collaboration, with better productivity. The Specialist Diploma in DevOps gave Ms Lim the skills needed to implement end-to-end software services through the Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) pipeline.

Ms Lim added: “Joining this programme has given me a headstart as I have managed to secure a full-time job while some of my friends are still looking for work. At times, I find it difficult to juggle between work and studies. But with my work mentor’s support, I am coping well. He checks on what has been taught in the lessons and gives me tasks designed to help me apply the knowledge I’ve learnt in school.”

WELL-DESIGNED MODULES FOR THE WORKPLACE

Ms Lim finds the WSPostDip classes deeply relevant to her job. 

“The modules are carefully designed so that students can understand even with minimal knowledge,” she explained. “I have gained not only knowledge from books, but also industry knowledge. Being able to relate my studies to what my manager and colleagues are saying has helped me to get started quickly whenever my manager assigns me a new task.” 

For example, Ms Lim took a module titled Agile Methodology in DevOps. Agile Methodology involves breaking a software project into multiple phases. Stakeholders and developers work together to deliver continuous improvement at every phase of the project. 

Said Ms Lim: “Our company also uses Agile Methodology for some projects. When I was studying this module, I could understand the best practices that my colleagues were referring to.”

Another example was Git, a tool used for tracking changes in development projects, which Ms Lim learnt in another module. “When my manager was introducing Git to my colleague and me, I was able to understand it better.”

Of her experience thus far in returning to school, she reflected: “It is great to be a student again. I have a different mindset now that I am a working adult – I know my goals so I keep myself motivated in both work and studies. If you are considering the WSPostDip, go for it. It may be tough at first, but you will be proud of yourself when you get that certificate.” 

Upskill and advance your career. Register for RP ACE’s online course preview for the June intake of part-time diplomas, specialist diplomas and work-study programmes today.

RP ACE will also be offering three new full-qualification courses in the upcoming June intake:

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