He’s a SARS hero, thanks to his training

For Kiam Soon, the lack of experience is never an excuse to shy away from the opportunities that come his way. And skills upgrading gives this humble man with Sec 4 education, the confidence that he can deliver results. When he was asked to supervise the Estates team at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, he gamely took up the challenge even though he had no prior experience in building maintenance. To equip himself with the necessary skills for his new work area, he took not one, but two Diplomas in areas like facility management and IT. That gave him a firm grounding as well as the confidence to excel in his job.

His big test came during the SARS crisis, which he passed with flying colours. He had to get the hospital wards retrofitted quickly with a new wireless nurse recall system as part of the hospital’s infection control measures. Falling back on his IT training, he led his team to implement the new technology in one-fifth the usual time taken. And Kiam Soon continues to throw up new surprises, completing his Bachelor of Information Technology at the age of 51.