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[P59]Parents Going Back To School

by Pat Brill, Pat

If you've been thinking about going back to school, you'll be happy to know that you have more options than you realize. Colleges and other schools recognize that adult students have different needs from traditional students and are responding with evening classes and online courses that make it possible for even the busiest mom on the block to earn a degree or certification in an ever-growing variety of disciplines.

Some of the options to consider when deciding about going back to school are:

? Two-year colleges
? Vocational schools
? Technical colleges
? Local universities
? Online colleges and universities
? Correspondence courses
? Distance learning programs

In addition, there are interior design schools, art colleges, and culinary schools that you can choose from. These are a few of the many specialized schools and colleges out there where you can earn a certification or degree in the specific discipline you're interested in.

Most local colleges, universities, and technical schools now offer classes in the evenings to make it easier for adult students to attend classes. Many of them offer online courses as well, so it's possible for you to attend classes and earn a degree from them without ever setting foot in a classroom.

?Virtual? schools are one of the hottest trends going for moms who want to go back to school, but are busy with jobs and families. These virtual schools, otherwise known as distance learning institutes and online universities, have gained amazing popularity in the last five years and are now recognized as legitimate sources for getting a college degree by some of their toughest critics.

One benefit of attending classes at a local college or technical school is that you get to take full advantage of the classroom setting. You'll have peers to turn to for advice, and even homework assignment help. This student community can be very good for you if you haven't set foot in a classroom for many years, as you won't feel isolated and alone in your scholastic pursuits.

However, online colleges offer you the advantage of being able to attend classes whenever it suits your schedule. They're also quite flexible in allowing you as much time or as little as you need to turn in assignments and meet the course requirements. This allows you to finish up a certification program or earn a degree much more quickly than you can in a traditional school setting, where the quarter or semester system is rigidly enforced.

To find the best back-to-school option for you, check out the web. You can research a multitude of distance learning programs to find one that offers a degree or certification for exactly the profession you want. You can also find out everything you need to know about your local colleges and universities online. Most have their own informative websites. So if you're thinking about going back to school, don't waste another second. Hit the Superhighway and start doing your homework'it?ll be excellent practice for when you do become a student.

In this current worldwide recession two governmentagencies namely Sentosa and the WorkforceDevelopment Agency are introducing new schemes in order to help theProfessionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) survive thiscrisis. Introduction of training courses for them and arranging for loans tobear the expenses for training are such two methods. This will enable them toswitch over to a different nature of job. MOM and WDA said that the are goingto introduce more options progressively in the future too.

On Sunday at a tripartite forum between Prime Minister LeeHsien Loong and some 550 union and business leaders, the PSP was announced. This is the Professional Skills Programme (PSP)which is eventually going to bring together all 'current skills' upgrading' andjob assistance schemes in place.

Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience or SPUR isgoing to provide funds for all such courses offered under PSP. Besides helpingPMETs switch to new occupations such as educators, hr professionals, registerednurses and pre-school teachers, PSP will also have skills upgrading courses tohelp PMETs improve in their specialty. Upon completion of these part-timecourses, students will received a professional, graduate or postgraduatediploma award.

Professionals working in Financial sector can take atraining course on Risk Management and/or product control at the RiskManagement Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) andFinancial Training Institute at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

Engineering professionals in the pharmaceutical andbiologics sectors can be trained in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (Validation)to become a validation specialist, through another Specialised TrainingProgramme.

A tertiary upgrading for PMETs can also be done throughdegree and post-graduate courses under the enhanced SPUR programme. Interviewswith candidates of executive and graduate programmes shows that indeed there isa strong trend of busy professionals and business leaders heading back toschoo. For Mr Frank Thong, Business Director of Sun T Synergies, it was a welldeserved reward for the years of hard work. ?Going back to school has alwaysbeen at the back of my mind and now with the current economic slow down, I seethis as an opportune time for me to take a step back from the day to dayoperations and go for new challenges. The Executive master of marketingprogramme forces me to shift my thinking paradigms, the case studies andnetworking has been nothing less than phenomenal. I should have done this yearsago, the knowledge I have acquired will certainly help me and my organizationpropel forward in tough global conditions like today. US graduate schools includingChicago and BaruchCollege, CUNY and State university of New York has also reiterate their strongcommitment to provide the best in class graduate education. In view of theincrease demand for quality American graduate education, Chicago has move to theirnew campus in Demsey road with twice the capacity of its current campus whilstbaruch college, the city university of new York has established a city campusin the heart of orchard road to cater to the growing demands for its range ofspecialized master programs.

Some of the programmes which are designed to be introducedwithin few months are the Master of Science Programme in Integrated CircuitDesign at NTU-TUM (Technical University of Munich), aimed at integrated circuitdesign engineers. Another Double Master of Science Programme in Logistics andSupply Chain Management at NUS-Georgia Institute of Technology for logisticsand supply chain specialists has also been incepted. PMETs have an option to gofor leadership and management skills training too.

WDA plan to organize career workshops for PMETs which isgoing to impart knowledge and guidance to build up communication skills,networking skills, resume writing, and to fare well in interviews through PSP.

But there are some problems in implementation of SPUR.There are requirements of co-payment. This strictness of a 10% co-payment ofcourse fees does not take into consideration the upfront fees that traineesmust pay. This may be difficult for many, as they don't have any concretesource of income. The Ministry of Manpower or the agency has to take theresponsibility to provide trainees with interest-free loans for the co-paidamount, with repayments in installments and the interest to be paid after thetrainee finds a job, which once more, shall be monitored through the CPFsystem.

Professional Conversion Programme (PCPs) will beunattractive to most retrenched PMETs. However, some of the retrenched PMETsmay have skills that have become obsolete will be benefited through PCPs. Butmost of them will have skills that are still an asset. As they are retrenchedbecause of the economic downturn, the PMETs might consider switching over tonew jobs through the PSP.

It has been decided by the authorities that100 jobless executives will be given about S$1.7 million in a year so that theycan go back to school. A stipend of about S$1,400 per month will also be givento them. The decision was taken by the afore-mentioned two government agenciesto help mid-career professionals avoid the direct impact of the currentrecession.

Some of the sectorsare still hiring in this state of global economic crisis. A major one is thetourism sector, which according to MOM, will create around 25,000 jobs over thenext few years in Singaporealone ? a result of the major developments in the Integrated Resorts.

Keeping in mind these developments, the Manpower Ministry has started anew training programme to help jobless executives make this sustainablecareer-switch.

In the meeting, the acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said:?Through these courses, we enhance their employability and their mobility. Soeven if they start the job that they may not particularly like, they can learnto like the job. Also, they may continue to look for opportunities for upwardmobility as well as for more opportunities in other sectors."

Onceyou've done all that you're in great shape. Start early, pay attention todetails and deadlines, and do your research and you'll find the collegeadmission process far easier than you've imagined. For more information aboutMaster Programs Singapore or Best graduate school in Singapore visit -http://www.cuny.edu.sg/

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Both Pat Brill & Rahul are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Pat Brill has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Recreation and Sports and Family. Pat Brill is co-founder of http://www.SilkBow.com which supports Busy Moms with free gift ideas and helpful tips to meet the challenges of motherhood. SilkBow is the perfect. Pat Brill's top article generates over 14800 views. Bookmark Pat Brill to your Favourites.

Rahul has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Travel and Leisure and Real Estate. Once you've done all that you're in great shape. Start early, pay attention to details and deadlines, and do your research and you'll find the college admission process far easier than you've imagined.. Rahul's top article generates over 90500 views. Bookmark Rahul to your Favourites.