All in Due Course

Bangulzai SG

All in Due Course

Want to take your career to the next level, or do something new altogether? Try these grown-up courses for size. By Baey Shi Chen and Theresa Tarpey.

So you’ve been in the same ol’ job for a while, gotten a few promotions and, suddenly, you are handed the pink slip. Or you find that you’re banging your head against a glass ceiling. Either way, it’s time to make a change and learn something new that you find fulfiling, like becoming a mixologist, jewelry designer or wedding planner. Acquiring these “lifestyle” skills can unleash your innner creative side, bring about a sense of accomplishment and maybe even earn you a living. Here, you find a choice selection of both part-time and full-time lifestyle courses to set you off in a whole new direction.

If you’re one of those java junkies who can coffee-talk with the best of them, why not make a profession of it—embrace the art of the barista. Loads of coffee shops are offering courses (thank goodness; imagine the savings from DIY lattes), like Highlander Coffee. In level 1, you’ll learn all there is to know about this wondrous Black Gold—from bean types, history, roasting to espresso preparation techniques, milk steaming and latte art. Then in level 2, you’ll be able to perfect your brewing and latte art skills. Each one-day course costs $198, but booked together they cost $388.

Highlander Coffee, 49 Kampong Bahru Rd., 6223-7102,

www.highlandercoffee.com.

For some of us, eating is more than just about survival; it’s a way of life. Put your food obsession to good use by studying to be a chef. At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy just started offering short-term certification courses—Certificate in F&B Service, Food Preparation and Food Production—all of which are ideal for those looking to get their first taste of the culinary arts. These courses are pretty intense—five hours a day, five days a week—but so is the profession. This intensity is one reason chefs like Gero DiMaria, executive chef at Ricciotti Pizza, Pasta & Deli, love their work. “It can be very challenging to run a very busy restaurant efficiently and smoothly—a lot can go wrong if you don’t plan well,” he says. “But at the same time, it’s such a satisfying feeling to be doing crazy 100 pax services and yet still be organized.”

At-Sunrice, Fort Canning Centre, Fort Canning Park, 6336-3307,

www.at-sunrice.com.

If you love wine more than food and you haven’t already thought about a career as a sommelier, you should now. To get certified fast, the Oriton School of Culinary Arts is the place to go. It offers an eight-hour foundational course and a 16-hour intermediate certification in wine. Courses are quarterly and cost $430 (foundational) and $815 (intermediate). Get additional practice by assigning yourself extra wine tasting homework (that’s the best assignment we’ve ever heard). It all comes down to experience in the end. The more wines you try, the more in tune you will become to the unique character of each wine. As David Chan, Sommelier and Vice Principal of Institute of Wine & Spirits, SHATEC, explains, “If you fall in love with wines, you will find a way to find out more. It’s like courting—you go all out to find out more about the gal you like. It’s the same for wines—we need to court them.”

Oriton School of Culinary Arts, F&B and Hospitality Management, #04-45 & #B1-01 Chinatown Point, 133 New Bridge Rd., 6542-8851.

If you have a taste for what makes good tipple and love to perform, indulge the showman in you by becoming a mixologist. Zac Mirza, 33, got his start as a bartender at the now defunct The Jump club and was trained by influential flair bartender Adam Browning Hill. He says, “Becoming a good bartender takes years of practice. It helps to improve your social skills since you get to meet people from all walks of life. It’s a great job—I’m paid to go out on Friday nights to have fun!” Bartistry, set up by Mirza, offers courses for developing bartending skills, such as cocktail making and flair bartending, from beginner to professional levels. They also provide training in product knowledge, customer service and maximizing performance. Lessons for beginners cost $1,500 for a 14-day course, while an advanced course for bar owners who want to upgrade their employees’ bartending skills costs $250 for two hours.

Bartistry, #01-01, 409 Race Course Road, 6392-3568, www.bartistry.com.sg.

If you’re a So You Think You Can Dance junkie and you think you can do better than the contestants, you may want to consider a career in dance. Build up your foundation and skills with dance courses and work your way up to become an instructor. At Dance Castle, a basic course in partner dance costs $120 for eight lessons, while dance exercise and fitness classes cost $150 for 12 lessons. Alternatively, you can also take up salsa classes at Attitude Dance Studio. A pioneer in promoting salsa in Singapore, the studio provides a fun and friendly atmosphere to learn while placing an emphasis on techniques to help you perfect those moves. A beginners’ course in salsa costs $80 for five sessions. The studio also offers other dance courses such as belly dance, Bollywood dance and hip hop.

Dance Castle, #04-15, Tower 4, Blk. 167 Jalan Bukit Merah,
6274-3489, www.dancecastle.com.

Attitude Dance Studio, #02-01 Palmer House, 70 Palmer Rd., 6226-2381, www.asiasalsa.com.

For all closet musicians who want to be the next big thing, there are now many avenues to develop your latent artistic talents. At Ko-nen Musical Performing Arts School, you can learn the various disciplines of dance, acting and singing. There are three stages, and courses start at $960 for 12 lessons for beginners, $1,920 for 16 lessons for Intermediate students, and $3,000 for five months for advanced learners. You can also take vocal lessons over six to 12 sessions at $80 per lesson, which includes learning the correct use of voice, technique and breathing. The school offers opportunities for promising students to take part in their productions. It also provides artist management and event organizing services that look into the logistical and business aspects of being an artist, so that you won’t get ripped off by slimy concert promoters once you’ve gotten famous.

Ko-nen Musical Performing Arts School, 60 Waterloo St., 6334-7192, www.ko-nen.com.

If you have a passion for gems and an eye for good design, why not be a jewelry designer? Serene Wong, 31, owner of local jewelry line t 4 3, has always had a passion for jewelry design, so it wasn’t long before she started her own business. She says, “I’ve been fascinated with jewellery ever since I was a child; whether it’s collecting jewellery or figuring out how to make my own. Eventually I decided to pursue a degree in Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins in London. This was a life-changing experience which naturally developed into a creative avenue for me to express myself.”

The Jewelry Design and Management International School offers a whole gamut of jewelry design certification and diploma courses (34 hours for $1,500) and fundamentals of gemology ($2,300 for 34 hours), among other programs on jewelry merchandising and marketing.

Jewelry Design and Management International School,
#07-04, 91 Bencoolen St., 6221-5253, www.jdmis.com.

If you believe in always putting your best face forward, a career in make-up is for you. Joann Zhao, 37, a freelance make-up artist for 17 years, enjoys helping others present their best to the world: “I’ve always loved make-up, and I used to read a lot of fashion magazines and help my classmates doll up. It makes me happiest when I can help people transform from their ordinary selves to look their best.” You can take up make-up artistry and diploma courses at Cosmoprof Academy, where you can obtain a professional diploma ($3,424 for 43 sessions) and learn about photographic, bridal and fashion-based make-up ($2,461 for 27 sessions).

Cosmoprof Academy, #04-06 POMO (former Paradiz Centre), 1 Selegie Rd., 6339-9115, www.cosmoprof.com.sg.

It seems like everyone’s getting into holistic health and healing these days, which makes massage therapists more in demand than ever. Whether you’re looking to earn certification in Thai, Chinese, aromatherapy, lymphatic drainage or Indian head massage, chances are you’ll find the course at Spatec, a school for spa, body and beauty therapy. You can choose from a large variety of classes, ranging from 27 hours all the way up to 490 hours. The courses are all short and sweet, lasting on average for 70 hours and costing between

$85-380—ideal for those looking for to be qualified quickly.

Spatec, #03-06 Midlink Plaza, 122 Middle Rd., 6343-0040,
www.spatec.com.sg.

Keeping up with trends can be seriously hard on the pocketbook. Turn an expensive habit into a career by providing image consultancy service. To get qualified, you can take the Image Asia Training Foundation and Advanced Course run by the Academy for Image Mastery and the London Image Institute. It’s a 12-day course in color, styling, communication and professional branding. The course (starts from $7,500) is held only twice a year, but one thing is for certain, you’ll never get bored. “No one day is ever the same,” says Jo Clary Maughan, image consultant and founder of image consulting firm F3-Fast Forward Futures. “One day, you will find me working with a group of women talking about the colors that suit them; the next will I be in make-up courses, and then going through a client’s wardrobe in their home or taking them out to the shops to do some personal shopping.”

Academy for Image Mastery, #06-17 The Alexcier, 237 Alexander Rd.,
6253-4669, www.imagemasteryacademy.org.

Are you a livewire with a gift of the gab? Become an emcee and liven up company seminars and private gatherings. Ernest Chen, author of the bestseller Earnestly Speaking, conducts many workshops in Singapore and the region. His one-day workshop costs $420 and trains you to be an effective master of ceremonies at various events. You also learn about social protocols, presentation skills and other useful tools. But, you must be passionate. As Chen says, “An emcee must be excited and full of ideas—an interesting person who knows how to command the audience and make them feel good.”

To register, log onto www.earnestlyspeaking.com.

Jennifer Norris, hypnotherapist and founder of the Grey Matter Network, says, “In spite of the situation around the world, hypnotherapists actually work in a relatively recession-proof business.” So not only is this career an opportunity for you to help others, it is also a foolproof plan for surviving any economic downturn. You can earn your certification at The Grey Matter Network, which has full- and part-time professional and continuing education courses. Currently on offer is a part-time, 100-hour Professional Hypnotherapy Training course starting May 27 (or June 3). This course, which gives you certification from the National Guild of Hypnotherapists, is the first step in training. The fee for the course is $3,950 (registration closes May 13).

The Grey Matter Network, 35A Neil Rd., 6235-4739,
www.greymatternetwork.com.

Pet grooming schools have sprouted up over the last few years to cater to the growing number of owners wanting their pets groomed to perfection. At Prestige Grooming Academy, courses range from basic to master levels and fees vary from $2,800-6,500. An introductory course is available for students who would like to concentrate on the basic pet grooming of a particular breed. This includes bathing, brushing, fluff drying, nail clipping and ear cleaning. At the end of the one-day program, students will be awarded a certificate by P.G.A. “The greatest satisfaction comes from seeing the difference in the dogs after grooming them. It’s good when you can help to solve a problem for the owners and make the dogs happy too,” says Zayne Yong, 31, a grooming instructor at Prestige Grooming Academy.

Prestige Grooming Academy, #01-223/225/227 925 Yishun Central 1,
6758-8675, www.prestigegroomingacademy.com.

Help couples make their big day one to remember by becoming a wedding planner. The Institute of Certified Wedding Planners offers a specialist diploma in wedding planning. Currently the only course in wedding planning in Singapore, it spans seven modules and teaches essential wedding planning skills such as project management, wedding etiquette, wedding event planning, wedding music selections as well as relationship education. Taught by Caroline Yakop-Lim, a wedding planner for The Wedding Entourage, the course takes place over 10 months and costs $9,000. Interested applicants can also apply for a bursary, which will be available for a limited time. Yakop-Lim says, “Wedding planning is rewarding and fulfilling, especially when people recognise your efforts. It’s not what a corporate job can give you. I got hooked after my first wedding when the bride’s sister thanked me for making her sister’s dream come true. It is a kind of calling.”

The Institute of Wedding Planners, #13-18 Park Mall, 9 Penang Rd.,
6336-9969, www.certifiedweddingplanners.org.

Love yoga? Why not spread the love by teaching? Pure Yoga runs a teacher training program with full- and part-time foundational, specialized and continuing education courses available all year round. You’ll need to have been practicing for at least 12 months and have a recommendation from your current yoga instructor before being considered. Courses range between five days ($700) and 12 ($5,000). Foundational courses are held around four times a year, so be sure to check with Pure Yoga for scheduling.

Pure Yoga, #04-00 Chevron House, 6304-2257; #18-00 Ngee Ann City, Tower A, 391A Orchard Rd., 6733-9878.

If you want to take your new found skill further and make a business out of it, read this step-by-step guide.

Launching your own business is no mean feat. With the economy ailing, it seems like an even greater challenge to venture into the world of entrepreneurship. However, there has been no better time to latch on to the spirit of enterprise. With funding initiatives and how-to guides by government bodies such as SPRING Singapore and EnterpriseOne to help budding entrepreneurs navigate the start-up maze, there is no need to tear your hair out to launch your dream venture.

Having a solid plan to work from is fundamental to any business. A good business plan encompasses factors such as timing, market research, finding an appropriate platform and proper business premises, and working out limitations with regards to funding, budget and manpower.

Making sure that you have a good brand name is also essential. “The first step, also one of the hardest, was coming up with a brand name that expressed us and which hadn’t been taken yet,” says Serene Wong, 31, jewelry designer and entrepreneur. “It’s also good to make sure that the domain name for your website is available as well because this might influence your choice of brand or company name.”

The ACRA website, www.acra.gov.sg, is a good place to research on basic start-up information and relevant permits and licenses.

In recognition of the increasing number of people plunging into entrepreneurship, the government has set up initiatives to help new businesses grow. You can apply for tax incentives such as the Enterprise Investment Incentive (EII) scheme or the SPRING Startup Enterprise Development Scheme (SPRING SEEDS). You can also check whether your company is eligible for tax exemptions on the EnterpriseOne website. SPRING Singapore has come up with the Incubator Development Programme (IDP), which helps incubators and venture accelerators nurture innovative start-ups by providing them with critical resources and services. These include obtaining financing, management guidance and mentorship, office space with flexible leases and shared business services and equipment.

The world being the interconnected place it is today, many are venturing online to gain greater outreach for their businesses. Wong adds, “Since we spend so much time online, it’s essential for our brand to have some form of web presence (www.t43please.com). This provides us with quick and convenient ways to introduce our brand, reach out to an international audience as well as update and inform our database of upcoming events and news. Finding the right partners also helps with brand positioning and develops our online presence. There are numerous advantages for starting an online business such as lower start-up and operational costs, and a basic web set-up can be built within a shorter time frame as compared to a brick and mortar shop.”

If you’ve made it this far, congratulate yourself on a job well done! But this is only the beginning. The challenge of managing a business is a whole other ball game. Says Wong, who likens it to being a ringmaster in a circus, “Not having a business background meant that I had to work harder to change my mindset and learn about managing a business and handling technical aspects such as production and manufacturing.” However, there’s no need to lose heart. Here are some pointers that she recommends for aspiring entrepreneurs out there:

• Be passionate and believe in what you’re doing—sometimes when things get overwhelming, this is the only thing that will see you through it.

• Being your own boss is not always as glamorous as it sounds, so be prepared to do whatever it takes to get things done.

• Don’t wait around for opportunities to find you. Be pro-active—even if it means cold-calling or being thick-skinned enough to ask for what you want.

• Build up and maintain a network of contacts and resources, e.g. join an association or attend networking events.

• Pay it forward—always be willing to help others out and repay those who’ve helped you even if it isn’t in monetary form.

• Don’t give up when the going gets tough! However, be objective and realistic about whether something is working
or not.

• Consider how far you’re willing to go and have an exit plan.

She adds, “Basically, all that I’ve learnt to date has been through hands-on experience, making mistakes and learning the hard way. You need to be humble, ask questions and listen to advice from others who’ve more experience than you. However, you also need to know when to play safe and when to push forward and find solutions to your problems independently.”

For more information on how to start up your own business, log onto EnterpriseOne at http://www.business.gov.sg or SPRING Singapore at www.spring.gov.sg.