My Journey

I have lived the harder path into tech

My work on inclusive AI is not a marketing angle. It comes from experience. I upskilled from a non-technical background, and I have seen who gets left behind when technology races ahead faster than people can follow.

I did not start in tech. I started with a business IT diploma and a willingness to learn in public. Over the years I moved from the civil service into oil and gas, where I was promoted from project coordinator to operations manager in under four years with no formal PM training, then into consulting at Accenture, and on to SAP.

When my role ended in late 2020, in the middle of COVID, I had a choice. I chose to upskill through the SGUnited Skills Programme rather than wait it out. That decision led to a services role, then Scrum Master work at Schroders, then agile delivery leadership at Brunel.

Along the way I kept noticing the same thing: when change moves faster than people, the people left behind are rarely the ones with the loudest voice. Often they are women, mid-career professionals, and the non-technical teams expected to just adopt and cope. That is why I moved toward responsible AI, and why inclusion is the throughline of everything I do now.

The path, step by step

  1. 2013 – 2017 Operations Manager Led the operations team at an oil and gas services provider, supporting regional offices across the Middle East, Korea and Brazil. Promoted twice in under four years, with no formal PM training. Delivery, learned by doing.
  2. 2018 – 2020 SAP Took a pay cut for a non-technical way into a technology leader. Betting on learning over comfort.
  3. 2020 Upskilling (COVID) The turning point. When my role ended mid-COVID, I chose to upskill through the SGUnited Skills Programme rather than retreat. Living proof that the harder path into tech is walkable, and that support matters.
  4. 2021 – 2022 SAP services role Landed a services role mid-programme, putting the new skills straight to work.
  5. 2022 – 2023 Schroders, Scrum Master Agile delivery in financial services.
  6. 2024 – Present Brunel, Agile Delivery Manager Leading agile delivery and change for complex programmes.
  7. 2025 – 2026 SCS AI Ethics & NTU Responsible AI Formalising the responsible-AI practice that now anchors everything: keeping humans at the centre so AI lifts people up instead of widening the gaps.

Explore the world, engage with people, understand their challenges, and deliver solutions.

Yasmeen Khan

Where this leads

Featured

As featured by NTUC LearningHub

My upskilling story was featured by NTUC LearningHub.

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