‘I was really lost’: Beauty course helped N-level student find her calling on the world stage

Winnalyn Tay, a third-year Higher Nitec in beauty and wellness management student at ITE College East, practising a facial treatment on her coursemate.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Published Sep 13, 2026, 12:00 PM

Updated Sep 13, 2026, 12:00 PM

Winnalyn Tay found her passion in beauty and wellness after struggling in secondary school and discovered a hands-on course at ITE that suited her interests.

She trained hard for months, winning a silver medal at WorldSkills ASEAN and will represent Singapore at WorldSkills Shanghai in September.

Tay aims to specialise in skincare, valuing client comfort. She embraces her newfound confidence and a no-regrets outlook on life.

SINGAPORE – Winnalyn Tay did not enjoy going to class in secondary school.

“All you do is just study and then PE, recess and study,” said the 19-year-old. The only class she liked was chemistry lessons in the lab. “I just like being out of the classroom.”

“I was really lost, not knowing what to do in future... I know I’m going to ITE, but what course?”

When her mother suggested nursing, she could not summon much enthusiasm. But while looking up courses in the lead-up to her N levels, she stumbled upon the beauty and wellness course at ITE and felt a spark.

“Which girl doesn’t want to learn make-up? I was also starting to get into skincare,” she said.

After struggling with acne and blackheads, Tay researched ways to manage breakouts and experimented with various cleansers, moisturisers and face masks. “That was when I started to buy and test which ones suited me.”

Tay was happy to find out that ITE’s beauty course, unlike secondary school, was highly hands-on. “It’s not just pen and paper,” she said.

ITE’s Higher Nitec course in beauty and wellness management teaches students skills in make-up, beauty treatments, nail services, body care, basic hairstyling and salon operations. Tay is in her third year of the three-year course, after which she plans to progress to the technical diploma in this area.

She liked it so much that she signed up to join the beauty therapy category at WorldSkills after learning about it from her class adviser, a former competitor.

Tay will represent Singapore at WorldSkills Shanghai in just over a week’s time. She will face 21 competitors from other countries.

The competition will assess her techniques in a chosen combination of services, such as facial and pedicure, on a model over two or three hours. It also tests how she speaks to customers and takes care of their modesty, among other things.

“At first, the training was very new to me, (with my) having to absorb every technique, having to practise the same thing every day. It gets tiring, but at the same time it’s rewarding,” Tay said.

She trained in four-hour stretches before and after class from January to July, giving up lunches with her friends.

“I was nervous. I do this so many times a day, a week, but what if on the day itself, I don’t do well? What’s the point?”

Tay was relieved to find her hours of hard work paying off at the WorldSkills ASEAN in Manila in August 2025.

“Once you start, you get into the flow state... Everything you train for, all the steps, will come naturally,” she said.

She walked away with a silver medal and was later selected to represent Singapore at WorldSkills Shanghai.

Her greatest takeaway from WorldSkills is discipline and commitment. “It’s not just a one-time thing. It’s throughout your life... You need that resilience to keep going,” she added.

Tay, who hopes to specialise in skincare, said the challenge of being a beautician is achieving the results clients want.

“If they say, ‘I want a lift,’ then you have to give them the lift. If not, they’d complain, ‘I paid so much money for what?’”

Beauty is pain, as the saying goes – but Tay would beg to differ. Client comfort is as important to her as the results – both in the competition and at work.

While interning at a facial chain, Tay was pleased when a customer told her that her hands were gentle even when performing an extraction – a procedure that removes blackheads, whiteheads and oil from clogged pores.

“It made me feel like I did my part,” she said.

Tay said joining the competition has made her happier and more confident.

“I didn’t dare to really talk to people,” she said of her past self. “I haven’t got out of my bubble yet. I was in my comfort zone.”

Now Tay has a different outlook on life – she wants to live with no regrets. She hopes to work as a facial therapist and eventually build her own home-based business.

As for her hopes for WorldSkills, Tay said: “I’ll do my best – more than my best, 200 per cent. As long as I come back feeling proud of myself, that’s enough.”

Winnalyn Tay是ITE东区学院美容与健康管理高级技师证书三年级的学生，她正在为她的同学练习面部护理。

ST 照片：林耀辉

发布于2026年9月13日下午12:00

更新于2026年9月13日中午12:00

Winnalyn Tay在中学时期学习成绩不佳，后来在ITE找到了适合自己兴趣的美容和健康方面的热情。

她经过数月的刻苦训练，在世界技能大赛东盟赛区获得银牌，并将于9月代表新加坡参加上海世界技能大赛。

Tay致力于皮肤护理，重视客户的舒适度。她对自己新获得的自信和无悔的人生态度充满热情。

新加坡——温娜琳·泰（Winnalyn Tay）中学时并不喜欢上课。

“每天除了学习就是体育课、课间休息、然后学习，”这位19岁的女孩说道。她唯一喜欢的课是实验室里的化学课。“我就是喜欢待在教室外面。”

“我当时真的很迷茫，不知道未来该做什么……我知道我要去工艺教育学院（ITE），但是要学什么专业呢？”

当她母亲建议她学习护理时，她并没有太大的热情。但在准备N水准考试期间，她在查找相关课程时偶然发现了工艺教育学院（ITE）的美容与健康课程，并对此产生了兴趣。

“哪个女孩不想学化妆呢？我当时也开始对护肤感兴趣了，”她说。

在饱受痤疮和黑头困扰之后，Tay开始研究如何控制痘痘，并尝试了各种洁面乳、保湿霜和面膜。“那时我开始购买并测试哪些产品适合我。”

Tay很高兴地发现，与中学不同，ITE的美容课程非常注重实践。“这不仅仅是纸笔练习，”她说。

ITE的美容与健康管理高级技师课程教授学生化妆、美容护理、美甲、身体护理、基础发型设计和沙龙运营等技能。Tay目前正在学习这门为期三年的课程，今年是第三年，之后她计划继续攻读该领域的技师文凭。

她非常喜欢美容治疗，在从她的班主任（一位前参赛选手）那里了解到这项赛事后，她报名参加了世界技能大赛的美容治疗项目。

Tay将在下周多一点的时间里代表新加坡参加上海世界技能大赛。她将与来自其他国家的21名选手同台竞技。

比赛将评估她为模特提供指定服务组合（例如面部护理和足部护理）的技巧，时长为两到三个小时。此外，比赛还会考察她与顾客的沟通方式以及对顾客隐私的尊重等。

“一开始，这种训练方式对我来说非常陌生，我必须吸收每一种技巧，每天都要练习同样的东西。这很累人，但同时也很有成就感，”Tay说道。

从一月到七月，她每天课前课后都要进行四个小时的训练，放弃了和朋友们一起吃午饭的时间。

“我很紧张。我每天、每周都要做很多次这样的事情，但如果到了比赛当天，我表现不好怎么办？那还有什么意义呢？”

Tay欣慰地看到自己辛勤付出的努力在2025年8月马尼拉举行的东盟世界技能大赛上得到了回报。

“一旦你开始，你就会进入心流状态……你训练的一切，所有步骤，都会自然而然地发生，”她说。

她获得了一枚银牌，后来被选中代表新加坡参加上海世界技能大赛。

她从世界技能大赛中最大的收获是自律和奉献。“这不仅仅是一次性的事情，而是贯穿你的一生……你需要这种韧性才能坚持下去，”她补充道。

Tay希望专攻护肤领域，她说，美容师面临的挑战是达到顾客想要的效果。

“如果他们说‘我想搭车’，那你就必须载他们。否则，他们会抱怨‘我花了那么多钱，结果呢？’”

正如俗语所说，美丽需要付出代价——但Tay却不这么认为。对她来说，客户的舒适度与最终效果同等重要——无论是在比赛中还是在工作中。

在一家连锁美容院实习期间，一位顾客告诉Tay，即使在进行黑头、白头和堵塞毛孔的油脂清除操作时，她的手也很轻柔，这让Tay感到很高兴。

“这让我觉得我尽了自己的一份力，”她说。

Tay表示，参加比赛让她更快乐、更自信。

“我以前不敢和人真正交流，”她谈到过去的自己时说。“我还没走出自己的舒适圈，一直待在自己的舒适区里。”

如今，泰对生活有了不同的看法——她想活得无怨无悔。她希望成为一名面部护理师，最终建立自己的家庭式企业。

谈到对世界技能大赛的期望，Tay说：“我会尽我所能——甚至超过我所能，付出200%的努力。只要我回来的时候能为自己感到骄傲，那就足够了。”