Adenan (third left) looks at one of the students’ experiments – one of the many Petronas’ interactive learning tools at the fair. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: The state’s industrialisation ambition has entered a stage where there should not be any mismatching of jobs among graduates after the completion of their skills and vocational trainings.
According to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, the key to transforming the state towards industrialisation was skilled manpower as the backbone for the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
“There should not be anymore mismatching of jobs against qualifications if we are going to industralise. The future now lies in technical education and we need the skilled manpower like other developed nations,” said Adenan when opening the 4th Sarawak Career and Training (SCaT) Fair 2015 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) yesterday.
Speaking to a packed audience mostly made up of school-leavers, Adenan also pointed out that the global trend was fast changing and would heavily rely on industrialisation to spur the nation’s economic and social development.
History, he added, had also proven that industrialisation could spur a nation’s growth d like England which pioneered industrialisation and set the path for other European nations and America to follow suit.
“They (Europe) are more advanced because they have taken the first step towards industrialisation. We must start and adapt industrialisation to survive in a competitive world and progress towards a first world nation status,” he added.
On another note, he said the case of mismatching jobs could partially be blamed on the unavailability of jobs in the technical or vocational fields.
“There is nothing more serious, so tragic as to be trained for four to five years to obtain a degree or diploma only to find there are no jobs which require the skills or knowledge that you have learnt,” said Adenan.
Potential employers in the industry, he said, must have a call on this matter (provide jobs) as youths especially those in the rural areas must be fully employed and know where to seek employment.
“I want them (rural youths) to go for technical training because SPM alone is not enough. You must have skills on top of SPM in order to be more successful in seeking employment,” he added.
He also urged Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP) to lower their intake criteria to enable the intake of more students into the institute for industrial trainings.
“What we need now is a huge volume of students before we can move on towards chasing quality,” he added.
The two-day fair which ends today and carries the theme ‘Enhancing Employability’ is organised by the Workforce Development Unit of the Chief Minister’s Department and Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas).
Among the exhibitors are Petronas which Adenan revealed had expressed interests to set up a few technical schools and Maktab Sains.
“Make sure that you (Petronas) keep your promise,” he joked, adding that the state government would nevertheless continue to pursue for an increase in oil royalty from the current five per cent.
He also said Petronas had agreed to provide a total of RM2 billion worth of contracts to Sarawakians and would be carrying out a total of RM50 million in their Corporate Social Responsibilities in Sarawak.
Adenan also witnessed the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government represented by Teras’ chairman Datu Len Talif Salleh and six universities which outlined the need to emphasise on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) education.
The six universities are Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Kota Samarahan, University College of Technology Sarawak, Curtin University Sarawak, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and Sunway College Kuching.
Adenan was also given the honour to hand over Petronas’ sponsorships to Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) branches in Kuching, Betong and Mukah as well as the Petronas’ Vocational Institution Sponsorship and Training Assistance (Vista) assistance to the Centre of Technical Excellence (Centex) Sarawak, Pusat Pembangunan Kemahiran Sarawak (PPKS), Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP) Miri and Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) Miri.
(Text excerpted from The Borneo Post)
In April 2017, The Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg has announced a major paradigm shift in Sarawak development strategy namely Sarawak Transformation through the Digital Economy.
In line with the Sarawak State development strategy, CENTEXS has identified its part to support the Digital Economy in talent development by establishing the Digital Training Unit in June 2017.
CENTEXS Digital Training Unit focus is on the development of technical manpower that will create sufficient digital skills and human resource required for the Sarawak Digital Economy. In March 2019, the Chief Minister of Sarawak, has announced the establishment of the Digital Academy.
The Digital Academy is envisioned to play a crucial role in producing digital talent pool to the industry. The Academy is an Industry relevant education program, focusing on reskilling and upskilling training, targeting school leavers, university graduates and industry employees.
~We provide the best in its class technical training programs. They are beautifully designed, internationally industries certified and job tailored~
His Excellency
The Governor of Sarawak
Tun Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud
“The biggest opportunities lie in technical education. We will need more people with technical qualification. Technical and vocational education will be very challenging but then again the remuneration and rewards will be just as great. They will be our passage towards attaining a high-income society status by 2020.”
YAB Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg
Chief Minister of Sarawak
“I applaud the collaboration between CENTEXS and Huawei to assist in the transformation of the State Economy toward Digital Economy. When we have the new technology, we can meet the needs of ASEAN and ASIA markets. Also, through this collaboration, Huawei will have laboratory outside China, in Sarawak, which we can name ‘CENHUA Lab’ (CENTEXS-HUAWEI) “.
Allahyarham YBhg Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Haji Adenan bin Haji Satem
Former Chief Minister of Sarawak
“We are very much aware of the importance of Technical Education in our quest for industrialisation. We don’t have enough people to man our industries because we have not been emphasising on technical education. Nevertheless, it is not too late for us to focus on technical and vocational education. So, we can meet the needs of thousands of technical hands in our industries.”
