As jobs are a top concern for Singaporeans in the Covid-19 crisis, TODAY’s Voices section is publishing first-hand accounts from jobseekers in which they reflect on their experiences and what keeps them going.

In this instalment of Jobseekers’ Diaries, Ms Shivaani Rajendran, 22, describes how the pandemic pushed her to shelve her dream of working as a flight stewardess and move into the social service sector.

My dream to be a flight stewardess bloomed when I was 14.

It began when I took a life skills module away from the school’s basic subjects such as mathematics and English.

The class was given the chance to select our preferred curriculum from photography, cooking and cabin crew services.

I have never really enjoyed cooking and could not picture myself with a camera, with all its complicated features.

Thus I chose the service sector in the aviation industry. I was fascinated by the neat hairdos, proper uniforms and how professional I would look as a flight stewardess.

From then on, I put my mind to becoming a flight stewardess by taking up an Institute of Technical Education course in travel and tourism and a diploma programme in customer service management at Republic Polytechnic.

I was halfway through my internship during the third year of my diploma course when Covid-19 hit us.

After years of planning, my dream of becoming a flight stewardess was dashed in a flash.

I had planned to join the workforce before pursuing a degree in hospitality later.

With the economy hammered by the pandemic, jobs were hard to come by after I received my diploma in May.

I felt lost and did not have a back-up plan for a crisis like this.

I then turned to my second interest in social work, which stemmed from my secondary school years when I had to collaborate with special needs kids from the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore for a school competition.

I knew, however, that it would be hard to land a job in the sector, considering that I did not have the necessary qualifications and experience.

Starting my search in April, I sent off about 30 applications for jobs in the sector, but did not get any replies.

Finally, in August, I got a call from St Andrew’s Autism Centre for an interview and joined them for a year as a teacher’s aide under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme by government agency Workforce Singapore.

I have been with them for more than two months and I very much enjoy the presence of the students.

Initially, it was challenging to understand how to manage students with autism.

But I have learnt to manage them better through the training that the centre has provided, and with the help of my co-teachers and colleagues.

I hope that this will be a springboard to a career in the social service sector.

I have not given up on my dream of working as a flight stewardess, but that is now my second choice.

Life has changed radically in the midst of the pandemic and I have learnt the hard way that things do not always go as planned.

The rough patch brought on by the pandemic has created considerable upheaval.

But I have recognised that no matter what life throws at me, I have to pick myself up, be resilient and keep going.  

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Ms Shivaani Rajendran, 22, had to forgo her career plan to become a flight stewardess after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the aviation industry. She decided to pursue her second interest in social work and joined St Andrew’s Autism Centre as a teacher’s aide under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme.

If you are a jobseeker with a compelling story or know someone who wishes to contribute to this series, write to voices [at] mediacorp.com.sg with your full name, address and phone number.