Back to school at 52 and struggling... and not just with the studies

For older students, the seemingly simple task of finding your textbook in an app can be trying.

- Leslie Koh

Going back to school seemed like a good idea, even at the age of 52. I would not waste my SkillsFuture credits; I would get to exercise a five-decade-old brain that had not attempted any form of academic study for the better part of 30 years, and I would, hopefully, pick up some new skills that could give my writing and editing work a new lease of life.

I had expected it to be a challenge, of course, given that the last time I had seen a textbook was before the turn of the millennium. Having been working for more than 25 years, where theory was happily displaced for the practical, I was prepared to struggle with the process of learning new concepts and picking up new techniques and tips.

What I wasn't expecting was a struggle with the software and online technology that I needed to navigate in order to pursue a part-time degree course. Tech dinosaurs, I feel your pain.

It was the last thing I expected to encounter when I decided to join the 25,000 Singaporeans who have used their $4,000 mid-career SkillsFuture credit top-ups. These were given last year as part of a national push to help older adults level up their skills so as not to get left behind by industry shifts. The credits can be used to enroll in more than 7,000 eligible courses, which the Government hopes will give a boost to continuing education.

While I've received on-the-job and informal training over the past 25-plus years of work, as well as attended professional courses relevant to my job as a writer/editor, I have never attempted returning to academic study. For years, this had not seemed necessary, but over recent months, a feeling of being stuck in a rut had prompted me to consider it.

Mind you, I expected to find it difficult. In fact, it was exactly what I was advised would be good for me. "Studying will stretch your brain and get it to operate in a different way," a mentor suggested.