Dr. Asleena (third right) exchanging documents of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CETA chairman Sazali Abdul Rahman (second left) witnessed by Datuk Haji Julaihi Narawi (third left), Bernard HK Tan Abdullah of Pro-Active (left), Nobel Pang of Plus Sustain (right) and others yesterday.KUCHING: Sarawak faces a substantial shortage of skilled workers and technologists and in electrical sector alone, it is estimated that about 6, 250 professionals and skilled workers will be required by 2020.
This was disclosed by Assistant Minister of Industrial Development (Investment & Promotion), Datuk Haji Julaihi Bin Haji Narawi while officiating at the opening of the third DACUM-TVET (Developing a Curriculum for Technical Education and Training – Technical and Vocational Education Training) workshop at the Pullman Hotel here yesterday.
He added based on current capacity, Sarawak could only produce 3150 of them by 2020 so there was a need to increase the training capacity in this area as in other skilled and professional fields.
Sarawak, he stressed, badly lacked skilled and professional workforce and that was why training and development to meet the needs was important and must be undertaken in a systematic and coordinated manner.
“Equally important is to ensure that the curriculum that the students go through is capable of equipping them with the skills, knowledge and attitude that is needed by the industry. In this respect, the DACUM workshop in certainly most welcomed,” he pointed out.
DACUM is a methodology developed in Canada and is now used globally to ensure that the curriculums used in training institutions to train skilled workforce and technologists is in line with the continuously changing needs of the industry. The workshop was organised jointly by Sarawak Foundation (Yayasan Sarawak) and Work Force Development Unit in the Chief Minister’s Department.
Julaihi disclosed that the 3rd DACUM workshop focused on the Electrical and Electronic Sector which was very pertinent in line with the development of Sarawak Corridor Of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and Sarawak’s needs as the foundation of SCORE is the generation and distribution of electricity, the number of professionals and skilled workers required in the field would be large, he reiterated.
“With respect to electronics, the state has developed SAMAJAYA as a dedicated industrial free trade zone to facilitate the development of the electronic industry and related services.
“Several international players such as X-FAB, Toko Electronics, Toyo Yuden, OMG Electronics, and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies have set up their production facilities here.
“Samajaya continues to attract global corporations. The latest to join are MEMC, a subsidiary of Sun Edison from USA and COMTEC (investment of about RM1.2 billion) from China. These companies will continue to need skilled workers especially in the electronics sector,” he stated.
Pointing out there were more than 16 companies and 20 institutions participating in the workshop yesterday, he thanked everyone in their contributions to the development of youth in the state urging them to continue their supports in future.
The official opening ceremony yesterday afternoon also saw Centre For Technical Excellence signing three Memorandums Of Understanding (MOUs), each with Cahaya Educational & Training Academy or CETA, Plus Sustain Sdn Bhd and Pro-Active Training Centre.
Director of Centre For Technical Excellence Dr. Asleena Binti Haji Helmi who is also Yayasan Sarawak (Sarawak Foundation) Head of Technical Development & Policy Division, signed on behalf of the Centre while CETA was represented by its Chairman Sazali Abdul Rahman, Plus Sustain by its Managing Director Nobel Pang and Pro-Active Training Centre by its president, Datuk Seri Dr. Bernard HK Tan Abdullah.
Also present were Yayasan Sarawak Director Datu Hj. Mohammad Abu Bakar Bin Marzuki, Director of Workforce Development Unit in the Chief Minister’s Department, Dr. Abdul Rahman Deen and other invited guests.
(Taken from The New Sarawak Tribune)
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~
Yayasan Sarawak Chairman's View
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.”