There has been a substantial push to upskill Singaporeans with the SkillsFuture Credit scheme to help us stay relevant to a changing workplace. However, in this recent HRMAsia article, CEO of SkillsFuture Singapore Ng Cher Pong says “a mindset change towards learning new skills remains challenging”.

But how do we encourage Singaporeans to embrace a learning mindset apart from funding courses and outreach programs?

Honestly, it may be hard for our generation. "Learning" for us who can fall back on Eldershield in hard times, has largely been structured and requirement-driven, such as passing one's O-Levels, tertiary education, or even industry certification examinations, where certification holders unabashedly declare that they have forgotten all they learnt for the exam once the exam was over.

The "grade-seeking" behavior that we have been so accustomed to focuses on rote-learning and regurgitation. The route is fixed, and the outcome is always between A+ and F. There is no room for deviation or creativity.

The local education system has always placed more emphasis on good grades and less about actual learning, which thankfully, the Government is working hard to change.

Real learning is a process through which you are constantly acquiring new knowledge and experiences to shape and create the next related experience. It is not about getting 97% in an exam (and even that is insufficient to gain entry into certain classes I read, resulting in the expected parental outburst and the school needing to open another class. Whatever happened to accepting that one was simply not fast enough in the race, even if one is very fast? But you don't want me to start on self-entitled behavior, or parents buying medals so that kids have something to take away and pretend like they’re winners even if their team came in last, or demanding parents who think that a loud voice or fat wallet is all that is required to exert their demands on the world, oblivious to the lesson are they unwittingly impart to their sprogs as a result).

Real learning allows, and even encourages, Failure, so that we can improve upon where we fell short, to create a new and better outcome. I recall a Chinese saying about Failure being the mother of Success, but maybe I got that wrong, since I didn't take Higher Chinese in school.

If we can successfully move away from the “kiasu school system” towards a cultivating a true love for learning and less fear of failure, I am sure that we can see positive results in the next generation.

It doesn’t mean that there’s no hope for us Eldershielders; change comes with internal realization. And if we can realize the joy of learning, say to play the piano, without the need to entertain the ambition of becoming a concert pianist or landing a gig that pays, be it ourselves or our children as the learners, then our mindset will have changed; and once one's mindset changes, the rest will follow.

Interest is paramount! Choose something that you enjoy, and the desire to learn will come naturally.

Cultivating a mindset change towards learning new skills