Enriching oneself with handy skills

As we live, we learn. It is a joy to learn and discover everything new each day. Once you stop learning, you stop growing.

 

Equipped with his newly-learnt plumbing skills, 60-year-old Mr Clement Tan no longer has to contact the plumber when faced with a leaking tap. The formal tutor finds his plumbing skills useful especially with the numerous water and flush system issues at home. These days, he is able to save the trouble of having to contact a plumber and derives satisfaction from his handywork when he is able to handle simple household repairs.

 

Mr Tan first picked up his plumbing skills in 2017 when he attended a Plumbing Maintenance course under the National Silver Academy (NSA), held at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE). Through the course, students were not only introduced to basic plumbing maintenance knowledge and skills but also to different sanitary appliances and ways to repair them.

 

"I feel a sense of satisfaction because I can now do simple household repairs such as fixing the leaking tap which is a common problem," Mr Tan says.

 

Making use of his forte

 

Once a teacher, always a teacher. For the educator who strongly believes in keeping one’s mind active, Mr Tan continues to teach even after retiring from his full-time tutor job. Each week, he volunteers his time on two nights to help out the underprivileged students with their academics, as he believes that ageing positively includes giving back to the community.

 

Positive learning attitude

 

Mr Tan is indeed setting a good example for his students with his positive learning attitude. The avid reader shares that his motivation for learning comes from his desire to continuously enrich himself. As Mr Tan found learning with the other seniors enjoyable, he had also expressed his interest in taking up Electrical – Home Maintenance and programming-related courses in the future.

 

After all, he believes in this: "As we live, we learn. It is a joy to learn everything and discover everything new each day. Once you stop learning, you stop growing."

 

**Special thanks to Mr Clement Tan who accepted our interview, we wish him all the very best in his lifelong learning journey.

 

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