<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Planning his fourth career at 70
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Rather than savour the fruits of a well-earned retirement, Mr Ong Teong Wan, 70, is busy planning his fourth career.
As a consulting partner at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), he develops customised corporate training programmes and conducts group training workshops, each lasting up to five days.
But he does not foresee himself persevering much longer, given the rigorous physical demands of the job. 'During training, I need to stand for several hours a day. Sometimes, my slip disc acts up,' he said.
His contract with SIM expires next year, but by the middle of this year, he will already be prepared for his next career change.
He plans to license the training programmes he developed to other trainers for a fee. He also hopes to conduct online training programmes and sell e-books through his website.
'Reinventing yourself is a buzzword now, but I have been doing this for years,' chuckles the indefatigable father of two.
His sons live overseas and with plenty of time on his hands, he wants to work for as long as he can.
After graduating from the then University of Malaya, Mr Ong did a post-graduate diploma in teachers' training from Oxford University. He gradually morphed from teaching to training teachers to finally a director of human resources at age 40.
By 45, when most of his peers were plotting their next move up the corporate ladder, he began thinking of post-retirement jobs. At the time, the American multinational where he worked had a mandatory retirement age of 55. Keen to freelance as a 'consultant' after retirement, he began testing the waters while still employed, by volunteering to train corporate clients at SIM in the early 1980s free.
He built up a track record and the money followed. When SIM's client load mushroomed, they asked Mr Ong if he would be interested in a paid, permanent position.
Having proved himself, he used his 'bargaining advantage' and offered to give up the company car that was part of his earlier remuneration package for SIM-sponsored training.
Keen to retain him, his new employers agreed to sponsor him to attend an MBA programme at the University of Southern California.
'I did not rush into the first post-retirement job I got... It pays to plan and train and look for the right opportunities.'
Radha Basu
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Rather than savour the fruits of a well-earned retirement, Mr Ong Teong Wan, 70, is busy planning his fourth career.
As a consulting partner at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), he develops customised corporate training programmes and conducts group training workshops, each lasting up to five days.
But he does not foresee himself persevering much longer, given the rigorous physical demands of the job. 'During training, I need to stand for several hours a day. Sometimes, my slip disc acts up,' he said.
His contract with SIM expires next year, but by the middle of this year, he will already be prepared for his next career change.
He plans to license the training programmes he developed to other trainers for a fee. He also hopes to conduct online training programmes and sell e-books through his website.
'Reinventing yourself is a buzzword now, but I have been doing this for years,' chuckles the indefatigable father of two.
His sons live overseas and with plenty of time on his hands, he wants to work for as long as he can.
After graduating from the then University of Malaya, Mr Ong did a post-graduate diploma in teachers' training from Oxford University. He gradually morphed from teaching to training teachers to finally a director of human resources at age 40.
By 45, when most of his peers were plotting their next move up the corporate ladder, he began thinking of post-retirement jobs. At the time, the American multinational where he worked had a mandatory retirement age of 55. Keen to freelance as a 'consultant' after retirement, he began testing the waters while still employed, by volunteering to train corporate clients at SIM in the early 1980s free.
He built up a track record and the money followed. When SIM's client load mushroomed, they asked Mr Ong if he would be interested in a paid, permanent position.
Having proved himself, he used his 'bargaining advantage' and offered to give up the company car that was part of his earlier remuneration package for SIM-sponsored training.
Keen to retain him, his new employers agreed to sponsor him to attend an MBA programme at the University of Southern California.
'I did not rush into the first post-retirement job I got... It pays to plan and train and look for the right opportunities.'
Radha Basu
