Duration

3 months (2018)

Role

Researcher

Tools

Paper, Google Workspace apps

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Under A Non-disclosure Agreement

Some of the details in this case study may be vague to protect the client's intellectual property.

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**What drives someone to upskill — and what holds them back?**That was the big question Nanyang Polytechnic came to us with in 2018. Singapore’s workforce was evolving fast. Automation, digital disruption, and new career models were reshaping what it meant to stay employable. NYP wanted to get ahead of that curve, not just by offering courses, but by truly understanding the people they were trying to reach.

Challenge

Lifelong learning sounds like a no-brainer. In reality, time, money, fear of failure, and decision fatigue get in the way before anyone even looks at a course catalogue. NYP needed to understand who was:

• actively seeking to reskill or upskill?
• what was motivating them or stopping them
• and how to show up in a way that felt genuinely relevant rather than just available.

Mapping the real barriers

We mapped the lifelong learning landscape through a 3-part study:

• A national incidence check to identify who was interested in CET and who wasn't
• Focus groups with working adults across age groups, career stages, and industries — honest, specific, sometimes uncomfortable conversations about what learning actually costs people
• And a quantitative survey to see how far the patterns held across demographics.

The goal was to understand the mindset behind each learning decision, not just the stated reason.