“Knowledge is a lifelong journey and not a destination,” said Zakaria Bin Fadzil, who graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety from the University of Newcastle, Australia at PSB Academy in 2012. “If you aspire to be successful in your career, acquiring new knowledge is essential and not an option, as it enhances your thinking skills.”
Zakaria’s learning journey with PSB Academy started way earlier in 1996. “I was working as a quality control (QC) engineer in a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC), with about 5 years of working experience,” he recounted. “My highest qualification was NTC-2 (National Trade Certificate) in Electronic Servicing and Certified Quality Supervisor course from Singapore Quality Institute (SQI). As most of my colleagues were equipped with a diploma, I was determined to improve my career prospects, which led me to embark on a Diploma in Production Management at PSB-IPT in 1996.”
He subsequently embarked on his second course – an Advanced Diploma in Quality Management with PSB-IPT two years later in 1998. “As a QC engineer, this course value-adds my job functions, as it provides relevant quality-related knowledge,” he explained.
Understanding the benefits of continuous learning, Zakaria embarked on his degree course when he was in his 40s. He knew that the qualification would complement his job as the senior auditor and head of certification of SOCOTEC Certification Singapore Pte Ltd. For more than 18 years, his job had been involved in conducting management systems audit and providing mentorship to junior auditors, team leaders and office staff. He also regularly shared knowledge with his customers and the public.
In fact, Zakaria considered his career highlight to be the time when he was at SOCOTEC Certification Singapore, where he managed to increase the number of the certification schemes to more than 15. While still working independently as a freelancer for SOCOTEC, Zakaria attributed part of his success to PSB Academy. “It is because without a degree, you may not get promoted,” he said matter-of-factly.
He was grateful for some of the technical skills and knowledge he gained when he was a student at PSB Academy. This included a mastery of local laws and legislation, which assisted him in auditing and evaluating compliance for his clients. He also learnt about environmental sustainability, recycling, product life cycles, hazardous substances, occupational hygiene, corporate social responsibility and various standards of certifications.
“Professionally, the knowledge that I acquired from my degree assisted me in widening my audit spectrum, beyond just auditing skill-sets,” Zakaria testified. “This is the only course that directly complements my job functions too.”
Although he only embarked on his degree course at a relatively late age, he found the curriculum manageable despite its rigour. “Personally, starting my degree in my 40s and juggling it together with my work and family is very challenging,” he recalled. “However, PSB Academy has good and understanding lecturers who were always accommodating. The combination of written examinations, group and individual project assignments, presentations and field trips was also well-balanced and comprehensive.”
Zakaria felt proud that PSB Academy had come a long way since the 1990s and continues to collaborate with different industry partners and renowned universities in the world. “I missed the many group discussions and brainstorming sessions,” he reminisced. “I love it that the classroom environment was made up of learners from different industries and age groups. I also like the fact that there were recorded modules and web-based lessons for those of us who sometimes might not be able to attend the classes physically.”
Zakaria is one of the 200,000 learners at PSB Academy. Be part of our growing family today.
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