WORKING AND STUDYING at the same time for a master's degree and other types of qualification often involves a significant investment of time and money.
However, the commitment becomes considerably easier with employer encouragement and financial support as Katherine Kwok, manager, Philips APAC Learning Services and Management Development, discovered.
'I joined Philips as an officer in the learning and development team handling training administration and logistics, but I didn't have any academic background in the training field as my undergraduate degree was economics and management studies,' said Ms Kwok, who has been with the company for six years.
Ms Kwok's continuous learning experience began when her former boss encouraged her to enrol in short training programmes. Each one was company sponsored.
'After six months I was promoted to senior officer and started independently organising and co-ordinating training workshops with external providers. At the same time, I enrolled in an MSc degree programme in training and performance management to further enrich my knowledge. This was also sponsored by the company,' Ms Kwok said.
The investment of time and money has paid off for Ms Kwok and Philips.
