From 1 O-level pass to SkillsFuture Lifelong Learning Award

“I got to ask my kids and bond with them. It inspired me to continue,” he said. 

Before his return to school, Mr Wang spent 12 years as a driving instructor and 16 years as a property management executive. 

He did not imagine he would be a student again until a job interview for a condominium manager role changed his perspective. His interviewer then had asked Mr Wang why he did not have higher academic qualifications.

“At first, I thought, ‘Does it really matter?’” he said. However, he soon realised times have changed.

“In my time, many could get by with just O levels, but not any more. I knew I had to do something.”

Going back to school required Mr Wang to juggle work, school and taking care of his family, including his elderly father.

Evening classes were held from 6pm to 10pm three times a week. When work ran late, he would log in to lectures via his phone from the office or on the bus, he said. 

If he did not have the support of his wife, who works as a manager in an oil trading firm, and an understanding employer, he would not have been able to get his diploma, Mr Wang said.

While he spent weeknights at lectures and weekends on projects, Mr Wang’s wife managed the household. 

“She would cook and take care of everything so that I could focus on my studies,” he said. 

Midway through the diploma course, Mr Wang secured a job as a property executive at developer GuocoLand, thanks to technical knowledge he had learnt from his studies.

He also excelled academically, earning an A in the Fire Science module and a distinction in Fire Engineering – grades he once thought were far out of his reach. He graduated from NP with a 3.77 grade point average.

In August, Mr Wang will head to the Singapore University of Social Sciences to study part-time for a degree in facility management.

“If I could speak to my younger self now, I would tell him that he should test his own limits,” he said.

“Don’t stop learning and trying; just do your best.”