Empowering Engineers to build Businesses

As I walked into the school of Engineering, in Nanyang Polytechnic(Singapore) this week, this tagline caught my attention.

"Empowering Engineers to build Businesses"

This is so relevant in today's competitive environment.

Engineers are truly the 'unsung heroes' of society, working behind the scenes, design and developing first-class buildings, infrastructure, rail, road systems, world class airport, and more.

I started my career in QA Engineering, and there were times when many would question my career choice.

"It is not prestigious" or "Career advancement opportunities are poor", one would say.

Where many would aspire to work in more glamorous work environments or chasing after prestigious job titles, in banking, finance, marketing and sales.

That is no longer true, there are countless of well-known engineers who are successful. Just think of Elon Musk, Tim Cook of Apple or Marjan van Loon (Shell).

If we don't have enough engineers, or yet to be competent engineers, what are the consequences? As I remembered the many challenges in employing qualified and experienced Engineers, back in the shipbuilding/repair, or oil and gas industries.

The Future -

Looking forward, more can be done to equip Engineers with other non technical skills set (Negotiation skills, Leadership, Personal Branding, Public Speaking etc), able to navigate in new real world scenarios and integrate them into the actual business.

Afterall, I started out as an Engineer, but over time, opportunities would arise to undertake Leadership positions. When you’re a leader in any engineering field, you are surrounded with people who will be working with you for years of your life.

As a leader, you will have to lead these people (especially the younger ones) and mentor them along the way.

With that mindset, I do what I do;

Giving back to the same community, that provided me with a Quality tertiary education in Polytechnic. This week, delivering a Pro Bono workshop for the graduating cohort in the School of Engineering in Nanyang Polytechnic, and others before that.

"Pay it forward" , celebrating and introducing the students to World Quality Day 18.

On that day, I was in the midst of potential future Techno-preneurs, award winning specialists, Quality Professionals who will soon make their mark in their industries they've chosen.

This is part of the cycle in anyone’s career.

You start out young and sometimes naive, not knowing what the future holds, Leaders become your mentors and the next thing you know, you’re the next one to lead the company.

For every company, it is important that leaders create other leaders in the process as well.

An engineer is resourceful and ingenious (hence engineer).

He/She appeals to the creative essence that is present within each of us.

So everyone is an engineer in his or her own way.

& No, you are not having double vision, I met these 2 twin brothers! Sharing similar aspirations studying in the same polytechnic.

Aspiring Engineers!

This is a small contribution to World Quality Day from Singapore!

Building Trust every step of the way!

"Quality, A Question of Trust"

#wqd18 #OperationalExcellence #advocatingtrust

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