Ancom Berhad Group Human Resource director Phillip Karuppiah heads the Initiative Working Group tasked to forge a deeper collaboration between industry players and educational institutions.
IN light of the current working climate, it is imperative for new and existing members of the workforce to upskill themselves to remain relevant in their respective industries.
By upskilling ourselves, the productivity level in both private and public sectors would increase, thus improving Malaysia’s overall GDP.
In the 11th Malaysia Plan, the Malaysia Productivity Blueprint (MPB) which was launched in May 2017 targets to achieve 2.9% labour productivity growth per annum.
The private sector, in partnership with the Government, will be the key driver for this productivity agenda.
As part of the efforts to achieve the target, several key initiatives and activities besides the nine priority sub-sectors have been identified.
One of the sub-sectors is “chemicals and chemical products” with the Chemical Productivity Nexus Governing Committee (CPN) chaired by Dato’ Dr Mohamed Noor Sany.
Under the CPN committee, there are five sub-committees which are responsible for different initiatives.
With Ancom Berhad Group human resource director Phillip Karuppiah heading the second Initiative Working Group (IWG), it is tasked to forge a deeper collaboration between industry players and educational institutions.
“The aim of the collaboration is to work with local education institutions to develop a customised upskilling course for chemical industry workers, ” he said.
With the course, it is able to increase the productivity level of workers in the industry while providing an opportunity to upskill themselves.
“To keep up and compete with other countries, it is important for us to upskill our workers and increase the nation’s productivity level. By upskilling, better opportunities would also be available for the workers to pursue a better career and life.”
The two local educational institutions chosen to jointly conduct the programme are Politeknik Tun Syed Nasir (PTSN) in Pagoh, Johor, and Genovasi University College (GUC) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
As an institution that specialises in online distance learning programmes, GUC also has a TVET school making it the ideal choice to jointly conduct and develop the certificate programme with PTSN, an established educational institution that offers specialised diploma programmes in chemical engineering, process engineering (petrochemicals), chemical technology and electrical and mechanical engineering.
As of today, PTSN has already developed a six-month certificate programme known as the Certificate in Chemical Processing.
Industry workers should upskill themselves to remain relevant in the industry.
Though targeted at process and factory floor technicians, diploma or degree holder employees in the industry’s non-technical division are also encouraged to sign up for this programme.
With the pilot programme taking place early next year, 20 chosen candidates will be part of the programme to give feedback to improve the programme for future participants.
“IWG 2 is also seeking to get HDRF recognition for the programme, enabling companies to use their contributions to finance the course for their employees.
“We are also currently talking to City & Guilds, an international certification board, in hopes to get this course internationally recognised, as it will add credibility to the programme and integrity to the certificate holder, ” he said.
For more information, visit http://www.mpc.gov.my/.
