How to Learn Skills that are Outside the Scope of Your Scholarship

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There are some graduates who will ultimately face this dilemma – that certain skills that they want to learn are not within the scope of their scholarship. It could be that these skills are also necessary in the career they are pursuing. Others want to learn new skills which may be of use to them in the workplace. Some need to learn skills for jobs outside of the workplace so that they could augment their income.

If you happen to be one of these individuals with this dilemma, here are some tips that will help you to learn skills that are outside your scholarship’s scope...

1) Be observant in the workplace

During your internship or on the job training, be observant of the tasks that are frequently being assigned not only to you, but to the other full time employees as well. It will give you an idea not only about the required core skills; you will also discover other skills that might be needed in the workplace. For example, if the organisation creates visuals to showcase their products but hire expensive photographers, you might want to consider honing your photography skills.

2) Consider updating yourself tech-wise

Practically every company and organisation has a solid tech base. If you only know the basics of the various programs that are being used in the company, now is the time for to you do in-depth tech studies and update yourself on these software’s latest features. Although you are still on a scholarship, the company may be enticed to hire you full time if they see that you are taking the initiative to update yourself on tech.

3) Don't forget SkillsFuture

If you haven’t visited your account yet, now is the time to learn how to claim SkillsFuture credit. The SkillsFuture programme offers more than 10,000 courses on various skills. Apply for a course and earn a part time diploma for new skills that you have learned.

4) Satisfy your need for personal satisfaction

It should be emphasised that if you want to learn new skills, don’t do it for the sake of the company or organisation you want to work for. Study because you want to satisfy your personal goals, not to mention your self-interests. Using our example earlier, aside from upgrading your photography skills, you can proceed to your dream of studying filmmaking. In another example, most companies are satisfied that you know English and/or Chinese. If you love to learn languages, you can study others like Bahasa Malay, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean. Being fluent in other languages is considered a plus among many organisations.