‘Retrenched at 48, I was worried I couldn't support my kids and ailing father'
BRANDED CONTENT 'Retrenched at 48, I was worried I couldn't support my kids and ailing father' Being part of the sandwiched generation, this business school executive is grateful for initiatives that have helped alleviate caregiving pressures and restart her career
After working for three decades in the travel industry, Madam Nurhani Zailani Shatifan was suddenly retrenched. It was 2020, and the Covid-19 pandemic had hit the travel sector hard.
'I felt angry and asked 'why me?'', recalls the former meetings and events manager, who was 48 at the time.
Shock soon gave way to anxiety. Three of her five children were still dependent on her – her youngest was preparing for the Primary School Leaving Examinations that year – and she was caring for her bedridden father. Her mother, who had also been bedridden, had passed away earlier that January.
Like many in the sandwiched generation, Madam Nurhani was caught in the middle – supporting her elderly parents while raising her own children, all while dealing with a sudden job loss.
Although her husband remained employed, she feared they would not be able to cope on a reduced household income.
She had been the primary caregiver to her parents, especially in their final years. While her children – four boys and one girl, now aged between 17 and 31 – helped out where they could, and a reliable domestic helper eased some of the load, the emotional and logistical demands remained heavy.
Bedridden after a major stroke in 2014, Madam Nurhani's father was lovingly cared for by the whole family – including her youngest children, who would play 'doctor' by his side.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NURHANI ZAILANI SHATIFAN
'My dad was always joking and laughing. But in 2014, after his third stroke took away his ability to speak, he became emotionally fragile,' she says. 'It broke my heart not to hear him laugh anymore but I knew I had to stay strong for him and everyone else.'
To reduce expenses, Madam Nurhani and her husband sold their Housing Board executive apartment and moved into a four-room flat in Pasir Ris.
She says: 'It was a significant lifestyle shift, downsizing from a spacious home to a smaller flat and to make room for our five grown-up children and my father. It wasn't an easy decision.'
Support that made the load more bearable
Thankfully, on the caregiving front, Madam Nurhani had already been receiving financial support through the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC). She was first introduced to these services in 2014, when a doctor advised her to speak with a social worker following her father's third stroke.
The Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) offers a monthly cash payout for caregiving expenses, while the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) helps seniors afford mobility devices as well as home healthcare items.
From January 2026, further enhancements will be implemented progressively to both schemes. Eligible caregivers will receive up to $600 a month under HCG, and coverage of SMF will be expanded.
Her mother, who suffered a stroke in 2016, moved in with her soon after.
Through Home Medical and Home Nursing services, a doctor visited Madam Nurhani's parents every three months.
'Dad was the first to start receiving home care services in the same year as his stroke,' she explains. 'Since we'd already gone through the application process before, applying for mum was faster and more straightforward.'
With her husband and children by her side, Madam Nurhani weathered the storm of retrenchment, grief and caregiving, emerging stronger as she embraced upskilling and a new career.
PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
Besides the doctor, a nurse also supported with overall home care. This included cleaning, changing her father's nasogastric (NGT) tube once a month, and assisting with his thrice-weekly baths.
These home-based services became even more critical as her parents eventually found hospital visits by private ambulance increasingly difficult.
Says Madam Nurhani: 'That support truly became a lifesaver.'
With the Caregivers Training Grant, she had also enrolled her helper in accredited courses to improve care quality at home.
'She learnt to change my father's diapers without straining her back, and how to administer his milk through the NGT tube,' she explains. 'These made a big difference – not just in her ability to care for him effectively but also for my father's comfort.'
Having these services in place gave Madam Nurhani the space – and peace of mind – to eventually rebuild her career.
Reclaiming her career confidence
Following her retrenchment, Madam Nurhani took proactive steps to upskill. She enrolled in a SkillsFuture-funded diploma in leadership and people management at SSTC Institute. Wanting to pivot industries, she also took up the Real Estate Salesperson course using her SkillsFuture credits.
'I believe that lifelong learning is very important for everyone to keep up with what's happening around the world, especially now with AI,' she says. 'So I always encourage everyone, including my husband, to take up courses.'
When her father passed away in 2022, she felt ready to re-enter the workforce in earnest.
Yet, despite 30 years of experience and new qualifications, her job applications went unanswered. 'I wondered what went wrong,' she recalls.
Career coaching gave Madam Nurhani (far left) the confidence to start over; today, she's a senior coordinator at Insead Asia Campus, where she's had opportunities to travel to the business school's Europe campus in France for work.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NURHANI ZAILANI SHATIFAN
The turning point came when she reached out to Workforce Singapore (WSG) and was referred to a career coach from Ingeus, a WSG-appointed provider. 'I wanted to understand why I couldn't even land a job interview and thought 'why not give this a try?'' Madam Nurhani recalls.
Her career coach quickly spotted the gaps and helped her refine her job search strategy – starting with condensing her eight-page resume into a sharper, two-page version tailored to specific roles.
'She also guided me through interview preparation, emphasised the importance of preparing thoughtful questions and pointed me to workshops to rebuild my confidence after being out of work for two years,' adds Madam Nurhani.
Among them was Mendaki's Women@Work programme, where she picked up practical tips on grooming, virtual interviews and workplace communication.
Enhanced help for jobseekers
How Workforce Singapore's (WSG) upgraded suite of schemes and tools can help you land your next job more easily
In addition to WSG's career coaching services, individuals who lose their jobs unexpectedly can tap on the newly launched SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which provides up to $6,000 over six months while they actively search for jobs and upskill.
Jobseekers can also access personalised job and course recommendations via WSG's CareersFinder tool, available on the MyCareersFuture online job portal. The tool analyses the individual user's profile and helps them gain insight into potential career paths and the skills required.
Within the year, her persistence paid off. Madam Nurhani was hired as a senior coordinator at Insead Asia Campus in Singapore, part of the business school's network spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
In her new role, she leverages her prior work experience to manage events, lead student-driven fundraising campaigns and coordinate meetings across teams.
Last year, she travelled to Insead's Europe campus in France to support its reunion events – marking a full-circle moment from once planning trips for others to now gaining international experience herself.
In her role, Madam Nurhani also facilitates and coordinates events for Insead's Robin Hood Campaign, supporting the MBA students' fundraising efforts.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NURHANI ZAILANI SHATIFAN
Having found her footing, Madam Nurhani is committed to helping others do the same. She mentors women looking to return to the workforce through the Women Supporting Women Mentorship Programme by NTUC U Women and Family – a programme that she has also benefitted from herself.
'There's always light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how long it is,' she says. 'What keeps me going is knowing that I did something for myself – and showing my children that if you put your heart into something, there's nothing you can't do.'
Find out the schedule of Together, for Better Roadshows to discover how Forward Singapore schemes and programmes can help support Singaporeans at every stage of life.
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