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While more of us are intuitively inclined to pick up investment-related books and courses to enhance our knowledge and grow our wealth, we may not take a similar approach with our careers. In the current economic landscape, we must embark on both personal finance and professional growth to achieve financial success.
As our career is the cornerstone of building our wealth, which ultimately funds our investments, we need to not only ensure job security but also be able to derive a higher work income over time. This requires us to contribute more meaningfully at work. To do this, we must think about reskilling or upskilling to stay versatile in an ever-evolving job environment or take on new opportunities in a rising industry.
According to a SkillsFuture Singapore report, jobs in these 5 categories: operations and administration; sales, marketing and customer service; human resources; finance and accounting; and engineering and technology; may experience disruption and demand new skills to perform the same roles due to technological advancements, changing business and operations models, and a rising focus on sustainable practices.
Like our investments, where we regularly review our portfolio and strategies, we should do the same with our careers by embracing lifelong learning and identifying knowledge gaps and learning opportunities.
Building On Your Fundamentals
Typically, when we begin our investment journey, it’s common to seek out books or courses to build our foundations in the various aspects of investing. This may involve studying basic financial statements from its regulatory filings, and even delving deeper into investment strategies like value investing, growth investing, or income investing.
Similarly, our formal education equips us with the knowledge required to perform at entry-level positions in our field of study. However, as we progress in our careers, we must continuously acquire new skills and knowledge to adapt to the growing job functions or roles that we may be required to perform.
There are many ways to do this, including via self-learning by reading books or consuming video content (think Udemy and even YouTube channels). In Singapore, we can also tap our SkillsFuture credit (SFC), provided by the government, to offset the fees of relevant training courses that meet our learning requirements.
The SFC scheme was introduced in 2015 to encourage Singaporeans aged 25 and above to take ownership of their skill development and lifelong learning. Various organisations are also dedicated to connecting individuals with their professional development needs. One notable example is the DBS Education Marketplace Lifelong Learning for Adults platform, which makes it easier than ever to get started.
Launched in 2022, DBS Education Marketplace Lifelong Learning for Adults is a one-stop platform for working adults to search, compare, and enrol for professional and executive courses across more than seven categories, such as Accounting and Finance, AI and Analytics, Management and Strategy, Coding, Marketing, Sustainability and Ebooks and Audiobooks.
For example, with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technological advancements, employers may demand new soft and technical skills to capture new growth areas and improve productivity. To stay ahead of your peers, you could bridge the knowledge gap with a relevant course under Analytics and Operations or Coding available on the Education Marketplace.
Moreover, if you find yourself transitioning from an executive level to a managerial position, the challenge of effectively managing and leading a team may arise. In such cases, you could consider a course under the Management & Leadership category to shorten your learning curve and adapt to the new role quickly.
Find Your Learning Style
Everyone has different learning styles – some are visual learners, while others prefer reading and writing. This diversity is reflected in our investment journey as well, where some of us may prefer investment books while others may gravitate towards video or live courses.
Likewise, when it comes to learning as a working adult, we may have preferences for in-person learning or online learning based on our life circumstances. For instance, some may prefer in-person learning to be able to interact with other learners and instructors, while those juggling multiple family roles may choose the online medium for its greater flexibility and convenience to learn at one’s pace.
With the DBS Education Marketplace, we can easily compare across a wide variety of offerings based on the course category, price, mode of delivery (i.e., online or in-person), and training provider using the comprehensive filters. This allows us to find the ideal course that suits our needs and preferences.
Source: DBS Education Marketplace
Diversification Not Only Spreads Our Risks But Also Allows Us To Take Advantage Of More Opportunities
Once we build foundational knowledge, we might seek to diversify into other asset classes, investment strategies and income sources. For example, from an initial portfolio of blue-chip stocks to alternative asset classes like cryptocurrencies or start trading options, futures, or forex investments to capture short-term opportunities.
Just as we go beyond our initial foundations with our investments, so should we with our professional careers. Once we have built our initial expertise in our field of work, we could explore adding more skillsets to grow our competency at a professional level. For example, if we are in the finance and accounting field, we could consider taking up a course on US Certified Public Accountant (US-CPA) by 88Learn or a FlexiMasters in Accounting Analytics and Digital Forensics by Nanyang Business School, NTU available on the DBS Education Marketplace. Such courses not only help build on our core competencies but also equip us with new ones to stay relevant in our field.
Additionally, we could also expand our knowledge by learning cross disciplinary subjects such as coding, business analytics, or sustainability. These are in-demand skillsets that we can adapt to our existing jobs, as well as enable us to seize new career opportunities in other promising areas. The DBS Education Marketplace not only offers a wide selection of these courses on its platform but also identifies which of these courses are recommended and come with SkillsFuture funding. These tags help to make our course selection quicker and simpler.
Source: DBS Education Marketplace
Weighing The Risk-Reward Trade-Off
When considering any investment, it’s crucial to evaluate the associated risks and potential rewards that we stand to gain. This will enable us to make an informed decision on whether we should proceed with an investment.
We could also take a similar approach when deciding which executive course to take. In a sea of education providers and courses, it can be challenging to narrow down the applicable courses and trusted providers to apply for. The curated list of lifelong learning courses on the DBS Education Marketplace, from a wide network of reputable and accredited education institutions, makes the filtering process that much simpler.
Furthermore, we can enjoy exclusive discounts and promotions when we pay for any of the courses on the DBS Education Marketplace using a DBS/POSB card. This includes a 10% discount on all regular classes by 88learn and Empire Code with DBS/POSB cards valid until 31 December 2023. Happening from now till 30 September 2023, DBS Lifelong Learning Festival offers the following exclusive partner discounts on DBS Education Marketplace:
- 88learn: 10% off Accounting & Finance course fees with DBS/POSB Cards
- NUS Business School: Up to 10% off course fees
- Nanyang Business School, NTU: Up to 90% off course fees
- Empire Code Education Centre: 10% off Coding course fees with DBS/POSB Cards
- Flying Cape: Up to 35% off Music & Dance class fees
- Storytel: Free 60 days trial for audiobooks and ebooks
Additionally, we could also split our course fees into interest-free instalments with DBS Payment Plans through Pay Later with DBS/POSB cards. Alternatively, we could also opt for funding options such as the Further Study Assist education loan to help pay for the cost of executive courses.
Investing Enables You To Grow Your Wealth Career
When we think about growing our wealth, we often perceive it as working hard, saving diligently, and finally investing this amount in familiar or high-return assets. However, we tend to overlook the idea of investing in ourselves as one of the ways to grow our wealth.
In reality, we are our greatest investment. The more time and effort we put into ourselves, the more resilient we become in our jobs and the brighter our career prospects. Learning does not have to stop at the average 12-to 13-year formal education we undertake at the start of our lives. Instead, we can embrace lifelong learning by applying the same mindset to being open to continuously learning, reviewing our progress, and improving our strategies.
While we are primarily familiar with DBS as our go-to bank for our savings and investments, we can also leverage its non-banking services, like the DBS Education Marketplace, to stay relevant in the modern landscape by enhancing our skills and staying competitive in the workforce.
Explore the extensive selection of over 100 executive courses offered on the DBS Education Marketplace to upgrade your skills and knowledge and prepare yourself for the future economy. What’s more, discover other interesting topics, such as music and dance, or choose from different forms of content, such as audiobooks and ebooks, that are also available on the platform.
The post Work & Invest: How Our Lifelong Learning Journey Is Similar To An Investment Journey appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
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