SINGAPORE - Ms Jaya Latchime Mutusammy, 46, spent 10 years in the aviation industry and three in logistics before switching to healthcare.

The mother of one, who is now a clinical assistant in a private clinic, told The Straits Times that she made the switch as she wanted a job where she could care for others.

In 2019, she took a Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) healthcare support framework course to help her make the transition.

Ms Jaya's profile is one story featured in SkillsFuture Singapore's inaugural Skills Demand For The Future Economy Report, which pinpoints the top 20 clusters of skills in the digital, green and care sectors most needed in the next one to three years.

It also has resources for those wishing to make career switches, and information on where they can sign up for new courses.

Ms Jaya, who joined the healthcare sector right before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, said it was difficult to make the career switch, but taking courses helped her adapt and make the transition.

She said: "I told myself, I'm learning something new, you can't expect things to be the same (across different industries), but you have to keep an open mind and there is nothing scary about healthcare."

Ms Jaya added that she has continued to take more healthcare courses so that she can be more helpful in the clinic. She has just completed a course in phlebotomy to learn how to draw blood from veins with a needle.

She has also enrolled in a specialists' diploma in active ageing at Republic Polytechnic.

She said: "It really helps calm patients down when assistants like myself are able to explain the procedures like ECGs (electrocardiograms) and what they can expect, even if I'm not the one performing them.

"It's really important to me to be able to do that."