An Adult Educator's Cycle of Knowledge

Description

Teaching adults is a whole different ball game from teaching young learners, who are mostly in the same chapter of life, still learning about the world and highly malleable. Adults carrying a diversity of real-world experiences, on the other hand, have unique learning needs.

This is what makes adult education challenging and exciting at the same time — the ability to impact learning to such a diverse group of learners and make real changes in the workplace. In this interview, let us hear from an Adult Educator who never ceases to learn.
 

Azhar Katib  
Founder of WebSell Solutions

During his adolescent years, when Azhar Katib’s mother suggested that he should “pursue either of two professions, a doctor or a teacher”, she might not have expected him to take her advice only in mid-life. With the setting up of his own firm, WebSell Solutions Pte Ltd, the IT-professional-turned-Adult Educator hopes to make better use of his skillsets to enable competency building in a greater pool of learners. At the same time, he ensures that he brings the most relevant skills and knowledge to his learners via training and upskilling opportunities.

You’ve worked in various IT roles and had career stints in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. What led you to leave that and venture into consulting and training with your own practice?

After more than 20 years of corporate experience in information technology and management, I decided to shift gears to pursue my entrepreneurial dreams. That was about 10 years back. Initially I was only providing digital marketing services to small and medium enterprises. As I interacted with my clients, I realised that digital marketing adoption was quite slow despite it being an up-and-coming field. Then came an opportunity where I was invited to develop a curriculum for a reputed training provider, who went on to seek my interest in running a class. Given that upskilling and reskilling were becoming a part of the national imperative, I saw the need to get into the training and adult education space to help others pivot towards new digital technologies and decided to say yes.

That led me to my first formal adult training certification with IAL, Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA, now Advanced Certificate in Learning and Performance), to ensure I was prepared for the new role.

Was it challenging to make the shift from being an IT professional to a Trainer?

My first training experience was in 2004, when I had to conduct classes in database design and administration. Initially, there was the fear of the unknown, standing in front of an audience to deliver a lesson. But I realised that I have quite the flair for it. If I have the subject matter expertise, could break down complex concepts, and communicate them in a way that learners can understand and use in their work, that makes me a candidate to be an adult educator.

What do you do to make sure you are an effective trainer?

Continuously honing and enhancing one’s professional capacity is crucial to remaining relevant amidst the rapid evolution in the nature of work. This is especially true in the fields of digitalisation and automation.

On an average, I would attend one short course, learning event, or activity per month. Over the past three years, I have also completed two academic pursuits — a Master’s in Learning and Professional Development (MLPD) from Griffith University, and a Graduate Certification in Workplace Learning (GCWPL) from IAL.

As professionals in the continuing education and training space, we need to practise what we preach. If I am helping people to upskill and embark on lifelong learning, I should also set the right example by doing so.

Would you say these pursuits have helped you in your career?

Yes, for sure.

For example, we had to conduct an industry project as part of the GCWPL course. I did a three-month project with a company on imparting basic customer service skills — an area which I had little expertise in. What I brought were my learning facilitation skills and knowledge in marketing and industry processes. That led to the co-creation of a learning intervention tailored to the company’s needs. It was interesting as the project was outside my core expertise in IT and digitalisation and gave me an opportunity to step out of my comfort zone.

What do you love most about your work?

It brings me great satisfaction to help learners move up to their next level, see them acquire new knowledge and skills, and apply them at the workplace, further their careers, or even start their own venture. It is very satisfying to be that agent of change.

What advice do you have for aspiring adult educators?

Lifelong learning is a matter of national imperative, and in Singapore we have generous government support for it. The training and adult education sector is a very promising field.

Another trend to note is the growing importance of workplace learning. If adult educators can impart learning within the context of the workplace, individuals will be able to immediately apply what they learn, and the experience becomes much more impactful. I think this is a good avenue for adult educators to move into.