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New Era

Singapore has clinched the hosting right for one of the F1 tournament games next year and coming on its radar is its bid to host the inaugural Youth Olympics.

Singapore has also expressed interest to host the upcoming Volvo ocean race and Red bull air races.

The benefits of hosting these international games of such stature are tremendous: it will inject a further boost to the Singapore’s economy and also stand Singapore in good stead in attracting tourist dollars and raising the awareness of our country.

Together with the completion of the mega-projects such as the IRs and the Singapore Flyer, these international events will create a sense of vibrancy in the local community and may inject some excitement into the lives of Singaporeans. Never has our country been more exciting before. These are certainly changes in this new era where globalisation is the buzzword and competition is greater than before.

In this new era, it is not only countries that must be constantly on the vanguard of changes and on a leading edge, denizens of the world must constantly upgrade themselves and stay relevant to the new world. Relevance to the changing needs of the world, of the global economy and of the local economy is key to survival for both countries and its people in this new era.

One can be relevant in this new economy but could still lose out to competitors; thus one must constantly stay on top of others in this new age.

To stay on top of others in this new age, learning, unlearning, relearning of new knowledge is often the buzzword. Knowledge keeps outdating itself, and one must constantly learn new knowledge.

The right type of knowledge to be acquired is important. There is no use at all if one just blindly signs up for courses.

Turning the papers everyday, I see dozens of course providers advertising their courses, be it diploma, bachelor and master programmes.

The caveat is for one to check the accreditation of the course provider. Significant amount of time and money may necessary to complete one course. Some people may have completed the course, spending time and effort, only to find that their qualifications newly earned are not useful at all in landing a higher-paying job or the job that they are seeking.

Unworthy agencies may be on the rise in Singapore as the demand for self-upgrading as well as the status of Singapore as a regional learning hub for foreigners grows.

From time to time, we read in the newspapers how some education centres suddenly closed and abandoned by their owners, leaving their students in a dilemma.

The influx of changes in our new world brings with it a multitude of opportunities and for some opportunities for exploitations too.

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