Thirst for learning proved to be a lifeline for her after she was retrenched

Coming from a traditional family where money was kept for the education of the boys in her family of 12, Eve had no chance to further her education after completing her ‘O’ levels. So she joined the workforce as a line operator with Maxtor. But her hunger to learn did not fade.

Over the 20 years she spent at Maxtor, she tapped on her colleagues to broaden her skills. She would stay back three hours every night and ask her supervisor to teach her computer skills. She even enlisted her engineers to teach her how to operate advanced machinery to diagnose hard disk problems though it was well beyond her job scope. It proved to be a lifeline for her when she was retrenched last year. Thanks to her advanced skills in hard disk diagnostics, Hitachi Global offered her a job as a Senior Technician that typically would have gone to a diploma holder.

It put an end to some of the good-natured taunts like “You are so old already, why do you still continue to learn?” she used to receive. In fact, she was retrenched from Maxtor while in the midst of a four-year course. It meant that she had to fork out her own money to continue with the course, which she did. By the end of the year, she would be the proud recipient of a NITEC Certificate in Electronics.