By Lisabel Ting

When Miss Tay Lee Ting wanted to learn more about finance, she did not turn to the Internet or pick up a book.

Rather, the financial planner paid more than $3,500 for an 18-month wealth academy course run by Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group in May.

The course started with a four-day intensive seminar, with monthly follow-ups.

To Miss Tay, it was money well spent.

'I gained knowledge that could help me in my profession,' said the 25-year-old.

Despite the high prices charged by the likes of Adam Khoo Learning Technologies, the recession has fuelled the personal development industry, which has been experiencing a steady growth in recent months, say industry players.

The demand for personal development talks is so strong that several big-ticket stars have been engaged to speak in Singapore.

Mr Robert Kiyosaki, author of the best-selling financial self-help book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, was here for a three-day seminar in May, where participants each coughed up $1,297 to hear him speak.

Well-known motivational speaker Anthony Robbins will be holding a workshop at the Singapore Expo in September.

A few hundred tickets costing $995 to $3,995 have already been sold for the Robbins event, which can take more than 4,000 participants, since it went on sale two months ago.

Industry players say the courses that have been enjoying the biggest boost are the ones that directly address peoples' financial worries.

'Some of the participants lost a lot of money when the financial crisis hit, and they now want to manage their own money. Others still want to go through banks, but they want to know what's going on,' said Mr Adam Khoo, executive chairman and chief master- trainer of Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group.

While he could not give exact figures, he said a free seminar on personal development that he conducted last week drew 150 people, compared to the usual 50.

Seminar organiser Success Resources has also seen a 20 per cent increase in participation for its wealth-related courses.

Its project manager, Mr Andy Poon, said its wealth creation, investing and success psychology courses have been the most popular.

However, he conceded that the surge in people looking to improve themselves may be offset by groups who baulk at the cost of attending such seminars.

Personal development courses in Singapore can cost anything from $98 to $36,000.

Tickets to Success Resources' four-day flagship event, Never Work Again, cost $1,995.

'We do have more and more people who are forking out their own money to attend our seminars to learn about creating other sources of income,' said Mr Poon.

But companies - many of which have cut their training budgets - have been sending fewer employees for training, he said.

Other companies are responding to the rise in demand by catering to those who were hit hardest by the recession.

DynaMind Associates offers a two-day course called Redesign Your Life, specifically tailored to the needs of the unemployed and retrenched.

Ms Cindy Anne Berlandier, its managing director, said it used to train 50 to 70 participants a month, but the number has grown to nearly 100.

Industry players are confident that the industry will continue to grow even after the recession blows over.

'The demand will increase as the population increases. Even in 30 or 50 years time, people will still need to learn how to motivate themselves,' said Mr Khoo.

'Also, the misconception that people who attend such courses are 'losers' is changing.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.