UP Magazine|Vol 2|No 2|2016|Raja Azura PENERAJU

VOL2 / NO. 2 / 2016 / RM10

PLACING FOR THE FUTURE

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YAYASAN PENERAJU PENDIDIKAN BUMIPUTERA Working towards a better future for the nation Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin

HRDF CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2016 KDN NO: PP18646/10/2014 (034058)

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CREATING A HAPPY, COMMITTED WORKFORCE

T

he role of a leader comes with many responsibilities. However one of the most important attributes of a good leader is boosting morale from the inside out, ultimately creating a work atmosphere that is full-proof and productive. For your organisation to thrive, it’s essential to take the time to develop good morale ultimately creating a happy and committed workforce.

And speaking of good leaders, meet our cover story Yang Mulia Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin, Head of Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera who had to hit the ground running with just one employee, a bank account and a registration card.

I am delighted to present this issue of UP Magazine where our cover story explores the opportunities presented to Bumiputras in Malaysia by the Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera. Get up close and personal with Yang Mulia Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin and find out just how she is in the business of changing mind sets and enhancing talents. You can read all about it in this issue!

As the year rapidly goes into its fourth quarter, once again I would like to thank all those involved in making UP Magazine a success. It is an ideal platform to highlight opportunities in Malaysian training and upskilling and is a useful tool to keep up to date and in the loop. We work hard to bring you the best and most updated news and happenings in the exciting world of training and upskilling!

Thank you all for your continued support! Happy Reading!

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CONTENTS COVER STORY Lending A Helping Hand Working towards a better future for the Bumiputeras, Yang Mulia Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin, head of Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera shares their goals, programmes and challenges faced in five years of its inception.

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12 02 | UP MAGAZINE

FEATURE 12 HRDF, the Games Changer 15 HRDF Conference & Exhibition 16 The HRDF Pool Fund 18 1MOC, Placing for the Future 21 Frequently Asked Questions 1MOC 22 Knowledgecom Launches Academy Cube 24 Addressing Issues & Concerns Related to Employability of Polytechnic Graduates

26

Bridging Malaysia’s Talent Gap in Global Business Sector

28

Academia-Industry Collaboration towards Strategic Sustainable Partnership in Retailing 2016

30 33

By Technologists, For Technologists GlaxoSmithKline Malaysia’s First “Bring Our Children To Work Day”

34 38

Bright Future for ICT Professionals

40

Bridging Academic Learning & Industry Skills

42

Helping Three Misplaced Workforce Segments

44 46

Deciphering HR from “Outside-In”

48

Human Resource Professionals Meet At JobStreet.com’s HR Networking Event

50

Casual Rules

Upbringing National Cyber Security Workforce

Top 10 Companies, As Voted by Malaysian Employees

PERSPECTIVE 52 Training Need Analysis & Up-skilling 54 The Art of Public Speaking 64 How to Avoid Being Overlooked for Positions

26 INDUSTRY INSIGHT 56 Helping Managers Make Better Proposals LIFESTYLE 58 Suite Escape 60 Gadgets 62 Training Venues 67 Book Review 68 Words of Wisdom

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I I COVER STORY I I

04 | UP MAGAZINE

Lending A Helping Hand Working towards a better future for the Bumiputeras, Yang Mulia Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin, head of Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera shares their goals, programmes and challenges faced in five years of its inception.

Y

ayasan Peneraju Pendidikan B u m i p u t e r a ( Ya y a s a n Peneraju), an initiative under the Bumiputera Economic Transformation Programme, was set up in November 2011, when the transformation plan was rolled out by the Prime Minister. Headed by Yang Mulia Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin who was elected into the office on February 14, 2012, Yayasan Peneraju was established to strenghten the ablities of Bumiputeras and ensuring it is sustainable in the long run.

With just one staff, a bank account and a registration card, Raja Azura had to get the ball rolling and within two weeks, the pair was asked to run the show. Today, Yayasan Peneraju has 46 staff, running 117 programmes with 10,000 scholars at a total expense of RM206 million up until August 2016.

“Yayasan Peneraju is a government agency reporting to the Economic Planning Unit, under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s Office. I currently report to Datuk Rahman Dahlan and the Board of Trustees is chaired by the Prime Minister. It wasn’t easy in the beginning and it has been quite a long journey. But it’s definitely interesting because there are a lot of areas we’re looking at and not just one focused area, which is what most foundations are doing,” said Raja Azura.

There are many areas that Yayasan Peneraju had identified for the Bumiputeras that is part of the affirmative action of the Malaysian government to ensure that the Bumiputeras escalate to the next level.

Yayasan Peneraju was set up to assist more Bumiputeras align themselves with Vision 2020. Raja Azura said, “We do not want them to go out of line in the future as it will create social economic problems due to the imbalance. We want to create more opportunities so that the Bumiputeras will be able to align to the country’s Vision 2020 of generating higher income, among others. That’s one of the areas we are tasked to improve.”

Yayasan Peneraju differentiates itself from other organisations helping Bumiputeras by providing not only certification programmes, but in grooming Bumiputera talents by nurturing and developing them. Raja Azura believes that many people are able to get the certification needed, but changing people’s mindset and enhancing their talents to the next level is not easy.

CHALLENGES IN CHANGING MINDSET “It’s not just about giving a certification, but also impacting them through their mindset. It is not easy, but that’s UP MAGAZINE | 05

I COVER STORY I

something that we are trying to achieve.

There are three areas that we are looking at in terms of developing the Bumiputeras.

• Peneraju Tunas: Assisting those who are academically inclined to get quality education, especially those in the secondary and tertiary level.

• Peneraju Skil: Giving second chances especially to the dropouts who are not academically inclined but who want to use their skills to get a job.

• Peneraju Profesional: Grooming more Bumiputeras to become professionals.

She added that for those who are not academically inclined, Yayasan Peneraju helps them obtain certification and also provides upskilling programmes to help them work towards earning a higher income.

On grooming, she said many companies require professional accountants, but only 8% Bumiputeras are actually certified professional accountants. “This is one of the key areas that we are looking at in terms of grooming more professional Bumiputeras moving for ward,” explained Raja Azura.

Yayasan Peneraju’s KPI includes employment rate and salary tiers of its scholars. Hence, the challenges that they face go way beyond just getting their scholars employed. “Take the second chance programme for example, scholars only have a minimum requirement to fulfill, which is to read, write, count and have interest in the field. We put these scholars through industry or internationally recognised certification with the target salary of RM1,500, which they have to achieve within a year of employment. The same goes for the upskilling programme.”

What makes it difficult for these scholars, according to Raja Azura, is not the training but the transitioning – especially for those who come from the rural areas.

“There are a lot of challenges when it comes to trying to make a change.

But when you’re doing something with passion, you’ll always feel that 06 | UP MAGAZINE

“Having some of our scholars go through four years of our nature development programme has showed me that they have grown up to be different from what they were before in terms of their confidence level, their ability to converse and even speak in public without fear.” ~ Raja Azura

the challenges will turn into fulfillment when you see the scholars do well,” claimed Raja Azura.

On changing mindsets, Raja Azura said that Yayasan Peneraju implements a nurture and development component in all of its programmes. Many have come into the programme with inferiority complex. especially scholars who were placed in boarding schools where they were surrounded by students who come from. “We help them overcome their inferiority complex by boosting their self confidence.”

There is also the issue of language barrier.

The inability to communicate well in English creates low self-esteem amongst the scholars of Yayasan Peneraju. Hence, the organisation has created an English improvement programme to boost the English proficiency, as well as the confidence of its scholars.

MORAL & SPIRITUAL VALUES “Moral and spiritual values also play an important role in shaping our scholars.

The solat (prayer) plays an important role and the first thing we do when we have new scholars is to assess how they perform their prayers. Then we start instilling the moral values – the four moral values that we cascade down to all 10,000 of our scholars – we call it SAID and it carries the values of being Syukur (Thankful), Ikhlas (Sincere), Disiplin (Discipline) and Amanah (Trustworthy). Once they have a solid foundation, we move to the next level.”

“Having some of our scholars go through four years of our nurture and development programme has showed me that they have grown up to be different from what they were before, in terms of confidence level, their ability

to converse and even speak in public without fear,” Raja Azura proudly shared.

With such minimimal requirements set by Yayasan Peneraju for scholars to qualify for the programmes, would scholars take the opportunity lightly?

Raja Azura begs to differ, “I don’t think that’s really the case because our cases could be quite extreme sometimes.

We have a case of a Penan boy coming out from the village to study in Kuala Lumpur. On his first day, he slept under the mattress instead of on it. It may take between six months and a year to adjust to the environment and blend in.

We have children who took two days to travel to Kuching from their village only to experience culture shock in the concrete jungle and could barely answer my questions. I once met a scholar who cried everyday and when asked why he was crying, he said that he was having a good meal in school while his family back home had barely anything to eat.”

“For these cases, we really need to be with them from the very beginning and they may take a while to be groomed. As for their results, they may not excel in the first couple of semesters, but over time, they improve. Developing these scholars is tough work, but it’s all worth it when we see them succeed in life.”

FUNDING FOR YAYASAN PENERAJU The funding for Yayasan Peneraju comes mainly from the government in the form of a grant, but 25% of the funds are generated by the staff of Yayasan Peneraju as they work on getting companies to pledge the funds or collaborate with various parties to run the programmes. Some companies contribute with benefit in kind (BIK) by providing venues, other goods and services and facilities. According to Raja Azura, there are many parties out there who are willing to contribute to Yayasan Peneraju due to their success stories with the programmes as well as their credibility in assisting the less fortunate.

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Novie Tajuddin, Director, Strategy & Engagement’s Office, said that to achieve the 40,000 scholars enrolment mandated by the government by year 2020, collaborations and partnerships will be continuously established between government agencies, other foundations and private sectors.

“This will ensure that the Nation Building agenda is not executed just

by us but fully supported by all. Most importantly, awareness is created and replication of high-impact initiatives are widely spread in accordance with our vision to become the “catalyst” of this affirmative action by the government.”

This, he said, will spark the “ripple effect”, thus meeting the objectives of propelling the country towards becoming a high income nation. “We work closely

with various sectors and industries and are thankful to organisations which have contributed, either in cash or BIK, in supporting our programmes. We also welcome other generous organisations to come forward to support this noble initiative and development of skills in our country.”

Yayasan Pena raju goes beyond taking in scholars to be trained only to leave them striving on their own right after. Raja Azura and her team believe that the success stories come handin-hand with their efforts in ensuring the scholars are employed with a welldeserved salary once they’ve completed the programme and excel throughout their employment. Hence, it is important for them to identify the demands for talents within an industry as the organisation run training programmes based on the industry’s demands.

Once the industries have been identified, companies are called in to bid for programmes that they have to offer. These training programmes have to be in line with the industries that have potential for employment, but Yayasan Peneraju is hindering themselves from providing the Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) as the number of SKM holders is in abundance. Instead, Yayasan Peneraju offers industry certification and international cerfication that has proven to be beneficial to its scholars.

TRAINING WITH PARTNERS

“To achieve the 40,000 scholars enrolment mandated by the government by year 2020, collaborations and partnerships will be continuously established between government agencies, other foundations and private sectors.” ~ Novie Tajuddin

08 | UP MAGAZINE

“The trainings for Yayasan Peneraju’s upskilling programmes have varied over the years. We used to be big in the oil and gas industry, but currently are focusing on ICT, hospitality, maritime and many more, while looking at healthcare as a potential area that we would like to venture in. So far we have ran 117 programmes, but due to the lack of manpower some had to be closed down – leaving us at 80 plus active programmes. About 60 to 70% of what we do focuses on the skilled programmes and the training is shorter compared to the Peneraju Tunas programmes – from as short

“One of our recent collaboration is with Knowledgecom on the Peneraju Profesional Pensijilan SAP and Big Data programme.” ~ Mohamed Harun Haji Abdul Jabbar

as three weeks up to a year – and the scholars are not allowed to opt out of the programme until after at least one year of employment,” said Raja Azura.

The trainings offered by Yayasan Peneraju is done with their partners, involving government agencies and ministries like MOE, MOHE and MOHR, as there isn’t enough industry experts within the organisation. Yayasan Peneraju relies on its partners to run the programmes as it believes that the partners know the programmes better to run them successfully, after such stringent selection process even for them. In order to make sure of this, the partners are monitored as closely as they do their scholars to ensure the funds are well spent and the return on investment is met.

Director of Operation, Mohamed Harun Haji Abdul Jabbar, said that one of the recent collaboration by Yayasan Peneraju is with Knowledgecom on the Peneraju Profesional Pensijilan SAP and Big Data programme. Funded

by Yayasan Peneraju, the programme will be conducted by Knowledgecom with the main objective of helping to raise Bumiputeras’ household income.

This is in line with the government’s objective to raise the household income of Malaysians by 2020. Peneraju Profesional Pensijilan SAP and Big Data is a “train and place” program, where a participant who has successfully passed the selection, assessment and interview process will be trained and certified in SAP and Big Data certification before being placed in the industry with a minimum monthly salary of RM5,000.

It’s with collaborations like this that Yayasan Peneraju looks forward to move into the future. “We don’t want to depend on the government grant all times. This year, we had to raise RM40 million on our own to ensure all our scholars are able to remain in the programme and be trained. Hence, we are always on the lookout for collaborative partners, pledgers and industry players to come onboard to help us run the programmes to ensure they and to ensure they are run properly,” stated Raja Azura.

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PENERAJU PROFESSIONAL SAP The Peneraju Professional SAP is a program conducted by Knowledgecom and funded by Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (YPPB). The main objective for this program is to help increase Bumiputera’s household income in line with the government’s objective to raise their income by 2020.

This is a “train and place” program where participants who have successfully passed the selection, assessment and interview process will be trained and certified in SAP certification. With this certification, they can seek employment and earn a minimum of RM5,000 in monthly salary.

ENTRY REQUIREMENT: Phase 1: SELECTION Applicants will be screened to meet the following: • Bumiputera • Minimum 2 years working experience • Minimum Diploma or equivalent (IT, Engineering, HR, Finance) • Age 26 years old and above

Phase 2: ASSESSMENT Successful applicants will have to go through a comprehensive Wave Professional Styles assessment which will be conducted by Knowledgecom partner, People Psyence Sdn. Bhd. (1046528-V). Saville Consulting Wave® Professional Styles Questionnaire covers the following areas: • Talent Assessment • Talent Development • Insights of Behavioural styles and preferences

2

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Phase 3: INTERVIEW The Wave Professional Styles assessment will be used to conduct a 1 to 1 interview.

PENERAJU PROFESSIONAL TECHNOLOGY ANALYTIC SPECIALIST (TAS) The Peneraju Professional Technology Analytic Specialist (TAS) is also conducted by Knowledgecom and funded by YPPB, aimed at helping raise Bumiputera’s household income.

Those who successfully pass the selection, assessment and interview process will be trained and certified in Microsoft Azure & SAP certification and will be placed in the industry with a minimum of RM6,000 monthly salary.

ENTRY REQUIREMENT: Phase 1: SELECTION Applicants will be screened to meet the following: • Bumiputera • Minimum 2 years working experience • Minimum Diploma or equivalent (IT, Engineering, HR, Finance) • Age 26 years old and above

Phase 2: ASSESSMENT Successful applicants will be further put through a comprehensive Wave Professional Styles assessment conducted by People Psyence Sdn. Bhd. (1046528-V). Saville Consulting Wave® Professional Styles Questionnaire covers the following areas: • Talent Assessment • Talent Development • Insights of Behavioural styles and preferences

Phase 3: INTERVIEW The Wave Professional Styles assessment will be used to conduct a 1 to 1 interview.

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I FEATURE I

HRDF, The Game Changer As Dato’ CM Vignaesvaran reaches his two-year mark at the helm of Human Resources Development Fund, he shares his milestones that have spurred a robust Malaysian workforce.

T

he last 24 months in office as Chief Executive of HRDF has seen Dato’ CM Vignaesvaran Jeyandran, weathering various challenges in his efforts to drive change. Indeed, this industry stalwart has had a “very colourful journey”.

“We are not here to do business as usual, instead we want to make lots of positive changes – and change always comes with resistance,” he says. Despite the initial objections, this visionary leader has successfully implemented programmes and initiatives to galvanise the Malaysian workforce. “People are starting to see our point and we are beginning to experience acceptance in the market.

There is a lot of good momentum in the market now,” he shares.

HRDF POOL FUND – A PARADIGM SHIFT On the biggest changes that he manoeuvred is the HRDF Pool Fund.

“That is the biggest paradigm shift because, previously we said that every company would be able to use their own money. Through the introduction of the Pool Fund, 30% of the money would be utilised to develop the industry,” he explains.

Led by Dato’ Vignaesvaran, HRDF obtained the concurrence of PERMUDA on the Pool Fund with the mandate to develop the industry.

“Our mandate is to get employers to make contributions equivalent to 1% of an employee’s salary to be used 12 | UP MAGAZINE

for training. However, companies are allowed to raise their contributions up to 3.5% of their operations budget.”

Dato’ Vignaesvaran stresses that HRDF was formed on the basis that more local companies may inculcate a culture of training. “Over the years we have seen positive changes, but there are still a large number of companies that do not see training as important.

Many local companies are also unable to afford to invest in training,” he notes.

On supporting multinational companies (MNCs), Dato’ Vignaesvaran explains that HRDF provides funding to support their skills programmes. “For example, one MNC which was about to downsize, asked us to sponsor a conversion programme because their product line was about to be shut down. By sponsoring the conversion programme, the line will be maintained, and they would be able to convert existing workers to another skills segment. These are the kind of win-win arrangements that we cater to for MNCs.” The Pool Fund has enabled HRDF to embark on these innovative approaches with employees benefiting tremendously from various training programmes.

The Pool Fund has also successfully supported the Outplacement Centre initiative which provides assistance to retrenched workers. “Previously, there was no government mechanism to assist retrenched workers. With the Outplacement Centre, HRDF sponsors retrenched workers with training

programmes to place them back in the workforce,” says Dato’ Vignaesvaran.

“Web-based job application is already a common thing in the market.

We are exploring the idea of doing it on SMS platform where job seekers will only need to SMS their credentials and details of the requested job. When a vacancy comes in, they will be alerted,” he adds.

SUPPORTING WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE Another major agenda driven by HRDF under the leadership of Dato’ Vignaesvaran is the thrust to increase women’s participation in the workforce.

“Unfortunately, Malaysia has one of the lowest participation of women in the workforce. In Korea and Japan, re-entry of women into the workforce is made easy. Temporary childcare arrangements are made by the employment office for mothers with small children, to attend interviews. Even when the mothers have found a job, the employment office will assist with childcare arrangements until a permanent solution is found,” he shares.

HRDF is trying to push for flexi-work and work-from-home arrangements through its HEARTS (Housewives Enhancement And Reactivate Talent Scheme).“ To-date we have successfully trained 300 women who graduated at the end of September 2016.” Dato’ Vignaesvaran notes that funding for this programme is limited but HRDF is trying to channel more money into the area.

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I FEATURE I

“Women have talents that can contribute towards the economy,” he stresses.

Courses offered under the HEARTS programme include translation, which is in collaboration with the National Translation Centre, Train-the-Trainer modules, and online marketing skills, among others.

“My vision is that once we have established the Outplacement Centres nationwide, we can support the women’s agenda more. We can consider incentivising companies to provide flexi working arrangements. In fact, in HRDF we already have flexi working arrangements in place for certain job functions. With markets and skills sets changing, we will be left behind if we do not keep up,” he states.

A GLOBAL WORKFORCE “We want to move up the value chain and be strategic, and not just concentrate on industrialisation. Funds should be channelled according to industry needs,” he stresses.

On that note, he shares that HRDF is embarking on a B40 Programme which is to reach out to the workforce whose family income is less than RM4,000 a month.

TOUGHEST CHALLENGE – EMPLOYERS’ MIND-SET According to Dato’ Vignaesvaran, the toughest challenge thus far has been in changing employers’ mind-sets.

“Generally, employers assume trained employees will find other opportunities and leave the company or ask for a raise.

However, they should look at it from a more positive angle. At the rate things are changing, skills will be outdated in 3 years,” he warns.

Another important thrust is the utilisation of big data technology in decision making processes. Big data technology is about the gathering of data and critically analysing the skills needed in the years to come. “We can make predictions that are strategic and start to plan for skills upgrading and enhancements in advance,” he notes.

14 | UP MAGAZINE

“We want to move up the value chain and be strategic, and not just concentrate on industrialisation.

Funds should be channelled according to industry needs.”

HRDF is currently partnering with the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) in planning and finalising programmes that cater to the skills demand in the country.

For the year ahead, Dato’ Vignaesvaran advises that stabilisation and normalisation of current programmes is priority. “We have already made the necessary changes, so now it is time to normalise and make it more effective.

Our funding will be guided by the NKEA and employer associations,” he iterates.

He advises that new sub-sectors covered under Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad Act 2001 will be announced soon. Thus far, more than 17,000 companies are paying levy to HRDF. Moving forward, HRDF is also focusing on driving online learning and certification programmes. “Although there is an increase of 23% participation in certification programmes, that is not sufficient. We hope to achieve 60% participation in certification programmes,” he adds.

I FEATURE I

HRDF Conference & Exhibition 2016 “Human Resources isn’t a thing we do.

It’s the thing that runs our business.”

– Steve Wynn, Wynn Las Vegas

W

ith 19 interactive sessions, the 16th HRDF Conference & Exhibition, to be held on December 6 and 7, is set to advance human capital management in Malaysia, with its progressive theme, “Orchestrating Success: Leading, Engaging, Reinventing.”

As the largest human resource conference and exhibition in Malaysia, the event is expected to draw over 2,000 local and foreign HR professionals, and more than 100 exhibitors, all under one roof at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The theme is in line with the Government’s move gear up for globalisation.

While last year’s conference hosted experts from leading institutes and companies such as University of Technology, Sydney, IMD Business School, Switzerland and Prosci Inc., this

year, the conference will have 18 thought leaders, academics, business leaders and HR experts from around the world.

Ove r t h e 2 d ays , participants can look forward to gaining first-hand knowledge from local and international strategists, academics and industry experts on areas such as: • Creating flexible HR platforms that can adapt to local needs • Innovative solutions for engaging, retaining and developing talent • Using analytics to make better talent decisions • Evaluating global human capital trends • Global themes facing the senior HR community • Enhancing productivity by increasing the quality of human capital development • Understanding & implementing the next level of HR best practices

• Creating a culture of engagement in the workforce For participants, this will be an unparalleled chance to learn, discuss and debate with pioneers and leading thinkers in human resource development.

For exhibitors and advertisers, it will be an exciting opportunity to showcase their HR related products, services and solutions to decision-makers and key industry people.

For more information on participating, exhibiting, advertising or presenting papers, please log on to www. hrdfconference.com.my

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I FEATURE I

The HRDF Pool Fund Ensuring the creation and growth of quality Malaysian human capital through efficient high-skilled training programmes and initiatives.

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he Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) had collected RM6 billion from the industry of which it disbursed a total of RM4.86 billion back to the industry for training purposes. HRDF approved a total of 12.7 million training places since its inception in 1993.

The Chief Executive of HRDF, Dato’ CM Vignaesvaran Jeyandran said that employers of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia are very supportive towards HRDF’s schemes, programmes and initiatives. “Making up 80% of our registered employers, SMEs registered with us have cumulatively used 80.7 per cent of the levy paid to HRDF,” he said when asked if there had been any changes in the training culture among Malaysian employers, especially the SMEs. HRDF established the HRDF Pool Fund in April 2016 to encourage its registered employers to continuously and systematically up skill their Malaysian employees to increase their level of regional and global competency and productivity,

THE NEED FOR A DIFFERENT APPROACH The HRDF Pool Fund is sourced from the individual Human Resources Development (HRD) accounts of registered employers. It is used to implement strategic programmes consisting of certifications or development activities that correspond with the strategic directions and agenda of the Malaysian Government; and the advancement of technology, system and processes within the industry 16 | UP MAGAZINE

“We must embrace novel solutions (and embrace them fast) that will help us move Malaysian workforce up in rank in terms of productivity and global competitiveness.”

03 • Assist the industry in identifying training that suit their respective needs and demands.

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THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE HRDF POOL FUND ARE:

• Support the national aspiration of attaining 35% skilled Malaysian workforce

by Year 2020.

to enhance the employers’ level of competitiveness in the regional and global marketplace.

“This type of training pool fund has been implemented in some of our neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Mauritius for over 10 years.

In the 2016 budget announcement, the Malaysian Government gave HRDF the mandate to implement a similar pool fund to lead, drive and champion workforce development. This also enhances the employability and competitiveness of Malaysia’s workforce.”

STRATEGIC INITIATIVES TO UPSKILL AND RESKILL MALAYSIAN TALENT The strategic initiatives include the establishment of the 1Malaysia Outplacement Centre; the Train and Replace Programme; the SMEs Upskilling and Re-skilling Programmes; the Future Workers’ Programme; and Programmes Identified by the Sectorial Training Committees and/or Special Fund for Industrial Association Programmes.

These initiatives provide tactical driven skills certifications that allow employers and the industry to capitalise on the improved quality of their workers while increasing the supply of quality local workers to support the business expansion needs of the industry, said Dato’ Vignaesvaran.

OTHER TRAINING FACILITIES AND PROGRAMMES UNDER HRDF HRDF is also entrusted by the

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02

• Encourage HRDF registered employers to train their local employees through certification programmes recognised by professional bodies.

Government to execute several fullyfunded programmes for targeted audience to help increase skilled Malaysian workforce in the country to 35% from the current 28% by Year 2020.

HRDF has a fully-funded programme for Malaysian housewives called HEARTS – short for Housewives Enhancement and Reactivate Talent Scheme.

“It is interesting to note that while we can easily increase Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) by 2.9% if we boost female labour force participation rate by 70%, women participation in this country’s workforce still has significant room for improvement,” he said.

Since December 2015, HRDF has introduced the Entrepreneurship Enhancement Skills Programme for Indian Community Programme, better known as EMPHATIC. It is another fullyfunded Government programme for the bottom 40% (B40) income group.

EMPHATIC’s objective is to provide entrepreneurial skills and competencies to enable its participants to venture into businesses. EMPHATIC has helped over 1,763 Indian trainees nationwide with the financial assistance of about RM18.8 million.

• Shift the activities of the industry from labour-intensive to knowledge-andinnovation-based economic activities.

EVOLVING IN ITS ROLE TO PROVIDE ROBUST AND PRUDENT HUMAN CAPITAL SOLUTIONS Dato’ Vignaesvaran, stressed that it is time for HRDF to go from good to great, with the accelerated transformation in workplace technology, productivity and professional development. “We must embrace novel solutions (and embrace them fast) that will help us move Malaysian workforce up in rank in terms of productivity and global competitiveness.”

In a move to include more employers to be eligible for the Human Resources Development training fund, more subsectors will be added to the current 63 subsectors under the Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Act 2001, a move that will increase its coverage from 1.94 million to 2.8 million employees

by Year 2020.

“There is a Malaysia flag in my heart which constantly acts as a reminder to make decisions as a Malaysian who loves his country. Upskilling and reskilling programmes may sound dry to some, but these strategic and timely initiatives can bring HRDF even further in our mission to pave the way for Malaysians to acquire maintainable leadership through sustainable employers and employees as the country builds towards the coveted high-income nation status” stated Dato’ Vignaesvaran.

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Placing For The Future 1Malaysia Outplacement Centre established to aid the worrying state of unemployment in the country.

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he raise of unemployment rate in Malaysia from 3.4% in June to 3.5% in July of 2016 has raised the nation’s concerns. It was the highest jobless rate since April with 5,162,000 people unemployed, a figure much higher than the 5,018,000 people a month earlier.

The percentage is also a big jump from Malaysia’s record low of 2.7% in August 2012.

In light of this recent hike, the government has taken intiative to establish the 1Malaysia Outplacement Centre (1MOC) under the administration of the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), to enhance the employability of Malaysian retrenched workers. Under this initiative, Malaysian workers who were retrenched will be equipped with the required additional industrial skills or qualifications to enable them to be re-employed, in hopes to continuously support their well-being after the loss of employment.

1MOC helps those being retrenched to find another job within the same or other industry by giving them new skills, up-skilling or re-skilling that is related to the job placement offered – in line with one of the measure stated in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan 2016-2020 – to empower human capital through quality workforce and to improve the employability of the workforce.

“This centre is a one-stop centre for employees who have been retrenched from companies that are registered with HRDF. Retrenched employees from companies that are not registered with HRDF are entitled to join the programme, but the services available to them are limited. For example, employees from

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unregistered companies do not have access to trainings like employees from registered employers do because the training fees are paid by the pool fund from HRDF and that is where we draw the line of our services.

“We hope to reduce the burden of retrenched employees in terms of providing them with advisory support on career counselling and planning, platform on job applications and matching as well as to prepare them for the next career,” explained Muhammad Ghazali Abdul Aziz, Chief Special Purpose Vehicle at HRDF.

INFORMATIVE JOB PORTAL At present, 1MOC has set up an informative job portal that is developed to help the target demographics – all retrenched Malaysian employees from both HRDF and non-HRDF registered employers – to gain information related to recent retrenchment issues and as a platform to gain employment opportunities. The portal is user-friendly and can be linked to any mobile applications, allowing the target demographics full access to the current retrenchment and employment information to plan for their reemployment.

Apart from being the main platform for retrenched Malaysian employees to access for job opportunities available in the market, the 1MOC Job Portal also allows employers to advertise available vacancies in their company on the site. Retrenched employees who are registered with the 1MOC Job Portal will have seamless access to all information contained on the site, as well as jobs advertised. Once

registered, they will be administered by the Job Placement Team who is responsible for guiding the applicants thru available jobs and help the applicants find job opportunities through collaboration with employers and the public and private employment agencies, as well as job advertisements on the local print and electronic media.

Muhammad Ghazali said, “The 1MOC Job Portal is also a platform that enables employers to advertise and find suitable employees among the retrenched individuals. Employers will have to sign up and key-in details of available vacancies in their company, which will then be advertised on the portal and automatically matched with the preferred position and qualification of retrenched employees who will be receiving job notifications of the vacancies via e-mail or through their Mobile App. Retrenched employees who are interested in the post may then send their resume directly to the employer for further process to apply for the position.”

“Employers could also contact c a n d i d a t e s t h a t m a t ch t h e i r qualifications and skill required directly, and make an appointment for an interview. As a registered member of the portal employers are able to view, edit or delete vacancies advertised on the portal.”

COUNSELLING SERVICE As easy as it seems, sometimes finding a job that matches one’s qualifications and needs can sometimes be tough.

Therefore, retrenched employees who are not able to find employment may request for counselling services

via the portal. Upon registration, they will receive an e-mail notification to confirm their registration and an e-mail notification about the counselling services offered by 1MOC will be sent every 10, 15 and 30 days. Those who are in need may request for counselling services by replying to the e-mail link received in the notification.

Upon receiving the request for counselling services, the counsellors will contact the retrenched employees to arrange for the counselling session.

During the counselling sessions, the participants will be assessed to identify their skills gap and if they do not have any that is related to the job offered, they will be guided and assisted by the Job Placement Team for direct job placement. Retrenched employees with skills gap will be referred and suggested to attend a specific training based on the competency required to perform the job offered.

“Systematic and professional services will be provided to retrenched employees to help manage trauma, self-assessment, define career goals, making plans for the next employment and to identify any skills gap in order to gain new employment opportunity. Our counsellors are also responsible for matching with available job vacancies that would provide immediate employment for the retrenched workers,” said Muhammad Ghazali.

Since inception in 26 May 2016, there are nearly 600 retrenched employees who are being trained under the 1MOC after they have been identified to lack of certain skills that is required. The types of training offered at 1MOC range from ICT programmes, technical programmes and skilled trainings.

TAILORED TRAINING “The training offered by 1MOC will be tailored and matched with the skills required for specific jobs available in the market. Training courses would optimise employability of the retrenched workers, putting them in higher priority. Skills gap assessment needs to be done for each

Muhammad Ghazali Ab Aziz, Chief Special Purpose Vehicle (CSPV).

“The training offered by 1MOC will be tailored and matched with the skills required for specific jobs available in the market. Training courses would optimise employability of the retrenched workers, putting them in higher priority.”

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“In addition to the specific programmes, 1MOC also has plans to provide additional generic programmes that cater to all retrenched employees.”

of the retrenched workers to determine the relevancy of training courses with the job offered by the employers.

That’s the length that we go to for our registered employers.

“We have about 3,000 registered training providers and we are aware of the expertise of these training providers. Hence, this allows us to source the training programmes from them or extend a call for invitation to companies who are interested to offer training to our registered candidates,” said Muhammad Ghazali.

In addition to the specific 20 | UP MAGAZINE

programmes, 1MOC also has plans to provide additional generic programmes that cater to all retrenched employees, such as an English Language Programme and Resume Writing Seminars.

With the current total of 1002 jobseeker signups and job vacancies posted in the 1MOC Job Portal, they are planning to move forward with an expansion plan in the pipeline. “In the future, we are looking to expand the role of 1MOC because one of the things we have noticed is that some retrenched employees do not have any intention of going back to the industry they are

from. But instead, they are interested to become entrepenuers. And that is one of the services that 1MOC is considering to provide in order to assist these aspiring entrepeneurs, counselling them and helping them identify their areas of specialty. This will be another extension of 1MOC,” concluded Muhammad Ghazali.

Malaysian retrenched employees who are interested to register at 1MOC may do so at www.1moutplacement.com

FAQ

1MALAYSIA OUTPLACEMENT CENTRE

What is 1Malaysia Outplacement Centre?

The Outplacement Centre is a onestop centre for retrenched Malaysian workers. The Centre is primarily meant to assist retrenched workers by upskilling or reskilling them with the required competencies to enhance their employability. It is also to help them secure employment either within the same or different industries.

What is the purpose of this Centre?

Besides assisting retrenched workers by up- skilling or re-skilling them with the required competencies, the Centre is also seen as the way the Government helps to reduce the burden of retrenched workers in terms of providing them with advisory support on career counselling and planning. It is also a platform for job applications and matching as well as to prepare them for the next career move.

What are the services offered in this 1Malaysia Outplacement Centre?

The Centre offers four services. They are: • Portal This informative portal is to help retrenched workers access information related to recent retrenchment issues, training opportunities and also serves as a platform to gain employment. The portal is also user-friendly and can be linked to any mobile application.

• Counselling The Centre provides career planning and assessment, and identify skill gaps so that the retrenched workers can re-join the workforce appropriate to their needs. The counsellors will match the retrenched workers with available job vacancies so

that they can be employed immediately.

• Training Counsellors will identify and arrange relevant training for retrenched workers to enable them to acquire additional skills and qualifications needed by the industry to enhance their employability.

• Placement The centre also acts as a platform for providing access to job vacancies in the market. The Job Placement Team will guide the retrenched workers on the jobs available through collaboration with employers, public and private employment agencies as well as jobs advertised in newspapers and online. Retrenched workers registered in the portal will be linked to the Short Messaging System (SMS) and will receive notification on jobs advertised in the portal based on their preference.

Who is eligible to apply?

Malaysian workers who have been retrenched by employers who are registered and non-registered with HRDF. If I am terminated due to disciplinary action, can I join this programme?

Employees who have been terminated due to disciplinary actions by their employers are not eligible to join this programme.

What documents are needed to apply?

No documents are needed when registering in the portal, but there are 3 documents needed to apply when the retrenched worker requests to undergo counselling session.

• A copy of MyID card (Identity Card);

• A copy of the Retrenched Letter from the previous employer; and • A printed success form from the registration in the portal.

Do I need to apply for counselling or training session?

Not all retrenched workers have to apply for counselling or training sessions. There are, however, a few criteria to be part of this session. The criteria as follows: • Counselling If the retrenched workers is unable to find placement after 1 month of registration, they may request for counselling service. Request for counselling service is available in the portal.

• Training If the counsellor finds that the applicant has the skills gap based on the assessment given to the applicant, the counsellors will direct the applicant to participate in a specific training programme. However, the training is only applicable for retrenched workers who were employed by HRDF’s registered employers.

What is the duration of the training programme and is there any monetary allowance given?

This training, conducted by the approved training providers, will be between 3 and 6 months. A monthly allowance of RM500 will be given to each retrenched worker during this period.

For programmes less than 1 month, the allowance will be prorated based on the total number of training days.

When was the programme launched?

The programme was launched on 25th May 2016.

If I am a retrenched worker, when can I register on the portal to obtain the services?

Please log on to h tt p : / / www.1moutplacement.com Is there any charge for this service?

No, there is no charge for this service.

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I PSMB NEWS I

Knowledgecom Launches Academy Cube The world’s smartest talent platform has made its way to Malaysia, aiming to qualify more than 100,000 professionals for the IT job market worldwide.

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nowledgecom Corporation Sdn Bhd is a proud partner of the innovative job and advanced training platform entitled Academy Cube for South East Asia. SAP in its role as founding partner announced that the new e-learning platform is aimed to help tackle the discrepancy between the lack of skilled workers with advanced IT knowledge and the growing unemployment rates of young people, especially in Malaysia.

Knowledgecom’s common goal is to equip and certify at least 20,000 young professionals with the skills employers are seeking on various technology skills by 2020.

Knowledgecom supports Academy Cube’s program of e-learning courses and certifying exams. As a leading IT training provider of certification courses in Malaysia and South East Asia, Knowledgecom plays a large role in certifying the know-how of IT professionals in Malaysia and South East Asian countries. Currently three quarters of the Malaysian companies rely on Knowledgecom’s IT expertise.

Motivated graduates, job seekers and academics may qualify for certificates by completing courses and passing exams.

Supplementing one’s own skillset may kick-start their careers and allow them to fill vacant positions, meeting the ITrequirements of the industry.

S.T Rubaneswaran, CEO of Knowledgecom Corporation Sdn Bhd, says “Academy Cube is an innovative, industry driven initiative that will help many individuals become equipped with the skillset and certifications both the IT and the manufacturing industry 22 | UP MAGAZINE

currently desire. We are proud to have the opportunity to be involved in such a broad and important European initiative and to be the first in Asia to bring this world’s smartest talent platform and incorporate it into our academic and workforce field.”

In October 2014, Academy Cube was founded as a non-profit organisation based in Germany. The platform is equipped to serve industry of all shapes and sizes and works with a diverse array of partners.

Knowledgecom is proud to announce being selected by SAP to become one of the elite partners of Academy Cube.

SAP represented this program on behalf of the growing list of Academy Cube partners, which include: LinkedIn, Microsoft, Robert Bosch GmbH, and Software AG. On the SAP side, the Academy Cube program is jointly led

by Markus Schwarz (SAP Education), Stephan Fischer (SAP Applied Research), and Ann Rosenberg (SAP University Alliances). SAP Education is supporting the program by providing e-learning content modules and course curricula for relevant SAP solutions, including the new SAP HANA e-academy.

At the heart of the Academy Cube initiative is a cloud-based internet platform that companies and institutions can use to provide e-learning courses and post job offerings. People looking for work can use the platform to get the skills and the qualifications high-tech jobs require. And potential employers know what young talents they are potentially hiring. The courses deliver the quality they expect, and students follow standardised curricula. Partner

universities participating in the Academy Cube can raise their profiles as well, as they can align themselves more closely to the job market.

N ew ways t o f i g h t yo u t h unemployment in Malaysia and Asia.

Academy Cube is an internet platform that enables university graduates in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to acquire specific IT skills employers seek, and brings these young talents and companies together.

Academy Cube aims to tackle the problem of unemployment among young professionals by up-skilling and matching job candidates with job offers at partner companies. Students can view their career options in the IT and manufacturing sectors and use the Academy Cube’s e-learning platform to acquire the skills they need for their chosen career path.

“We have a shared goal of placing young people into jobs in the technology sector by upgrading their skillsets”, says Rubaneswaran.

“Firstly, I would like to share a little bit about the problem we are trying to solve. We see a growing skills gap, especially in ICT in Malaysia and Asia, where many more professionals are needed. At the same time, Malaysia also have high unemployment rates among young academics. So the Academy Cube is a contribution to match these two issues: to help fill the skills gap and to find work for the unemployed, especially unemployed academics within the disciplines known as STEM”, Ruban adds.

Academy Cube is accessible for Malaysia right now. This smart platform provides talent and job matching worldwide. Registration is free on this platform. There is no costs involved to match you to a job. The only cost would be to upskill if the desired job requires you to have a certain skillset required by the employers. If you have the right skills to match a job, then, there is no fee involved. This talent

platform is free for all and job matching is on global platform.

“But what’s really important to mention is this: when you look at these initiatives and the placement success rates, they’re all above 80%.

This means anyone who attends these courses has an 80% chance of finding a job. This is proven. It was this success that led us to start thinking more broadly: why not really scale this up in one platform and make it accessible globally by adding Asia to the already existing European countries”.

“We’re extremely excited to be opening up Knowledgecom’s IT trainings to those involved with Academy Cube. It is imperative that business takes the lead in developing and nurturing ICT skills.

With Academy Cube we offer a holistic approach to those looking to get started, or augment their expertise, in the ICT industry. Not only are we offering worldclass training, but we are then able to place people in jobs, which will positively impact the employment prospects of tens of thousands of Malaysians”, adds Rubaneswaran. “The Academy Cube is being designed to deliver as part of our Center of Excellence in Technology (CoET) sites that are currently being proposed to public universities and state skill centers’.

Knowledgecom aims to have at least 100,000 Malaysians and ASEANS registered talents by 2020 on Academy Cube, who will be able to apply to more than 20,000 jobs hosted on the platform, alongside hundreds of e-learning courses. Anyone signed up on Academy Cube is eligible to source for jobs globally. For more information, and to sign up, visit www.academycube.com.

Academy Cube addresses gaps in qualification, provides international job opportunities and is equipped to serve industry of all shapes and sizes and works with a diverse array of partners. As a sole partner for Asia, Knowledgecom will make this talent search portal accessible to other countries in Asia after its launch in Malaysia.

“When you look at these initiatives and the placement success rates, they’re all above 80%. This means anyone who attends these courses has 80% chance of finding a job.”

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Addressing Issues & Concerns Related To Polytechnic Graduates Fruitful meeting between Employability Advisory Committee and Department of Polytechnic Education provides DPE effective strategies for building employability capacity for fresh polytechnic graduates.

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raduate employability has always been the key indicator to measure the true value proposition of education provided by an institution. As the largest Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provider in Malaysia, the Department of Polytechnic Education (DPE) continues to emphasise on producing the right quality of TVET graduates required for workforce.

With the introduction of National Key Economic Area (NKEA), 1.3 million workforce is needed from the TVET sector by the year 2020. The current growing labour supply in Malaysia which is at 2%, is insufficient to meet this target. Therefore, as a way towards achieving this vision, issues

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on graduates employability remains a priority for DPE. To address the issues and concerns related to polytechnic graduates employability, the Employability Advisory Committee (EAC) Meeting was held in early September this year at the Department of Polytechnic Education, Putrajaya. The objective of the meeting was to get feedback from the industries on the skillsets, demand and supply in respective industry and the direction of the industry and it’s implications to the manpower in the TVET sector. Fifteen industry members from the Human Resource Department were present and a very fruitful discussion was tabled.

With half a million of graduates by the year 2016, polytechnic graduates are

perceived as potential key players in the drive towards fulfilling industry needs in an economy which demands more specific industry skill-sets and advanced technical knowledge.

This was agreed by Renesas Semi Conductor KL Sdn Bhd, Panasonic Industrial Devices Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Dongwha Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Holiday Villa Hotels & Resorts as these companies had experience with polytechnics graduates. In general, polytechnic graduates are well received by the industries as they have the passion to work, flexible in learning and meet the criteria required by the industry. Additionally, these graduates can be retained in the industry as they are highly skilled and embodied through

academic abilities with personal, interpersonal and behavioural attributes.

The implementation of Work-based Learning (WBL) in all Polytechnics Malaysia has improved the polytechnic graduates employability significantly with almost 100% employability for WBL programs. The WBL in polytechnic provides zero gap between demand and supply of an industry. The unique feature of the Polytechnic’s WBL is that the context for learning is in the workplace, with the nature and manner of learning undertaken by process between student, employer and institution. This renders a value-added feature to the polytechnic students as they excel in both academics and skills in the technical field, thus making them all-rounded competent workers who would be an asset to the company.

Strong support from members of the EAC was given to DPE for bringing the student internship to final year, which has benefited the employers and the students. Mr. Prasad Chandran, General Manager for Human Capital, Panasonic Industrial Devices Malaysia Sdn Bhd, expressed his vision to extend similar Structured Internship Programme between DPE and Western Digital (M) Sdn Bhd to polytechnic students. The internship programme between Western Digital (M) Sdn Bhd and DPE which started in 2010, gave the first batch of 30 polytechnic students an international mobility experience at Western Digital Bangkok in 2015 followed by 18 students this year. This collaboration was further strengthened with the development of PolytechnicIndustry Certification Programme and Executive Diploma in the area of Automation Engineering Technology.

The 3-hour discussion session with the EAC members provided DPE effective strategies and development activities for building the employability capacit y for fresh polytechnic graduates. Issues on graduates’ salary trend, employment type and future of respective sectors were also reviewed.

In line with DPE’s tagline “Partnering

DPE aims to have more industrypolytechnic engagements to ensure that skills taught in polytechnic are in tandem with the rapid changes and needs taking place in every industry.

Industries, Engaging Employers, Empowering Talent”, DPE aims to have more industry-polytechnic engagements to ensure that skills taught in polytechnic are in tandem with the rapid changes and needs taking place in every industry.

DPE realises that the quality of education is resembled through employment, thus

ensures that every issue and suggestion raised in the EAC meeting is taken seriously. From the TVET perspective, DPE hopes that more industries will engage with polytechnics to produce a capable holistic human capital and a highly trained workforce to meet the country’s needs.

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Bridging Malaysia’s Talent Gap in Global Business Sector Outsourcing Malaysia together with MDeC and TalentCorp announces latest batch of GEMS-SSO Graduates for Malaysia’s fast growing Global Business Services Sector.

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utsourcing Malaysia together with five local universities recently held a graduation ceremony for the latest batch of its Graduate Employability Management Scheme (GEMS-SSO) programme, to meet the talent needs of Malaysia’s Global Business Services (GBS) sector.

A joint initiative by Outsourcing Malaysia, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, the programme is aimed at providing industry exposure to final year university students prior to graduation. The programme was co-funded by TalentCorp together with industry partners from the GBS sector.

Since the programme’s inception in 2014, over 250 final year students have been trained and successfully placed as interns and subsequently absorbed by industry.

The event saw students graduating from University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), Universiti Malaysia

Sarawak (UNIMAS), Multimedia University Malaysia (MMU) and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). The programme has received tremendous support from local universities that offer the 10-12 days training programme to their final year students. Also involved in the initiative is University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

“The programme was conceived in 2014 when the Outsourcing Malaysia Talent Council teamed up with Talent Corp and MDeC to train undergraduates who are still in university. It is a win-win solution for all. The universities can offer value added industry relevant knowledge while students are able to enhance their skillset and increase their employability rate. At the same time, the GBS industry has a solution to bridge existing talent gaps,” shared Outsourcing Malaysia Chairman, Cheah Kok Hoong.

Under the programme, undergraduates undergo 10-12 days of intensive training with specialisation in HR or Finance. This training is internationally certified and delivered

by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) qualified trainers. In addition, students are required to sit for the globally recognised Certified Outsourcing Specialist IAOP certification examination as well as undergo a minimum of 10-weeks to 6-months of internship with a GBS company.

The IAOP is the leading global outsourcing association with more than 120,000 members and affiliates worldwide. It offers certification programmes that are recognised worldwide by the GBS industry.

“The biggest segment of demand for GBS is in the area of HR and Finance, hence the emphasis on these two skillsets.

The onus now is to bring the programme to more Malaysian undergraduates nationwide,” added Cheah.

The World Bank’s Malaysia Economic Monitor published in December 2013 reported that one in five degree holders in Malaysia under the age of 25 were unemployed. In addition, the 2014 Labour Force Survey report by the

(Seated from left to right) Nik Izudin Nik Mohd Yusof, Head of Strategy & Planning GBS Division MDEC; Chin Chee Seong, Chairman of PIKOM; Cheah Kok Hoong, Chairman of Outsourcing Malaysia; M. Pattabhiraman, Outsourcing Malaysia Talent Council Chair; Professor Madya Dr. Aini Binti Aman of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Justin J Anthony, Director of Outsourcing Malaysia, together with some of the GEMS-SSO graduates.

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(Left to Right) Chairman of PIKOM, Chin Chee Seong and Chairman of Outsourcing Malaysia, Cheah Kok Hoong speaking to media at the GEMS-SSO 2016 Graduation ceremony.

Department of Statistics released in June 2014 revealed that one third (31%) of those unemployed in Malaysia had a tertiary education, translating to about 130,000 persons. This is corroborated

by Ministry of Education statistics that show close to 25 % of local graduates were unemployed (51,835 out of 202,328 graduates).

The universities concurred that such industry collaboration is the way forward towards building local talent and meeting the needs of a growing GBS industry.

“We are pleased to be working with Outsourcing Malaysia and the other industry partners to deliver an industry relevant programme that will equip our graduates with the mindset and skillsets to be relevant in the job market. Industry input is always crucial and the GEMSSSO initiative is designed to deliver the best possible talents for the industry,” said Dr. Mariati binti Norhashim, Faculty of Management, MMU. Dr. Aini Aman Associate Professor at UKM said that “in addition to creating awareness to the GBS industry, this programme also enhances our graduates’ technical and soft skills for better internship placement and employment in the Industry”.

“Transforming students in a subtle yet meaningful way, this is one of the key attributes of the GEMS-SSO programme among the many other benefits it brings for a mutually beneficial collaboration,” shared Dr. Rizal Abu Bakar, Deputy Dean, Career Affairs and Alumni, UNIMAS.

(Left to Right) Nik Izudin Nik Mohd Yusof, Head of Strategy & Planning GBS Division MDEC; Chin Chee Seong Chairman of PIKOM with a GEMS-SSO graduate, together with M. Pattabhiraman, Outsourcing Malaysia Talent Council Chair; Cheah Kok Hoong, Chairman of Outsourcing Malaysia and Professor Madya Dr Aini Binti Aman of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

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Academia-Industry Collaboration towards Strategic Sustainable Partnership in Retailing 2016

T

he Department of Polytechnic Education (DPE), Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE), recently organised a Focus Group Dialogue on Retailing 2016 with the theme, AcademiaIndustr y Collaboration Towards Sustainable Strategic Partnership in Retailing, in collaboration with Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA). The focus group dialogue was officiated by Tuan Haji Mohd Ghaus bin Ab. Kadir, Deputy Director General (Operation), Department of Polytechnic Education.

28 | UP MAGAZINE

The dialogue was aimed at reaching out to all the collaborative partners in the retail Industry and to blend in together with educators to create a conducive education ecosystem for retailing, specifically in the development of talent for the industry. DPE has always placed priority in engaging with the industries as a mission for the Department to develop industry-led curriculum and enhance graduate readiness through coordinated industry engagement.

Experts from the retail sector shared information on talent development,

expectations and challenges in retail industries through their presentation and the dialogue session. The information was useful in identifying the gap between the present curriculum and the needs and demands of the industry, in producing more employable graduates.

MRCA Vice President Dato’ Liew Bin, presented his expertise on Entrepreneurship in Retail Industry: Franchising while MRCA Deputy Secretary General, Dato’ Bruce Lim, presented on Retailing Outlook & Challenges – Impact on Talent Needs. DPE’s Mr. Tung

Chee Kuan, Director, Industry Liaison and Employability Division, shared an overview on Polytechnic education system and collaboration with industries through his presentation on Partnering Industries, Engaging Employers, Empowering Talents.

The event was also a platform for the industry players to network with the Polytechnic to close the gap in the retail sector. Inline with the dialogue, DPE also organised a panelists dialogue session with the theme AcademiaIndustry Collaboration in Retail Industry – Closing the Gap that focused on the development of talent for the industry and challenges and expectations faced by industry with regards to talent.

The panellist consisted of Dato’ Bruce Lim; Ms. Munirah binti Azmi, Assistant General Manager, AEON Co. (M) Berhad; Mr. Jegathesan Ramasamy, Human Resource Manager, MPH Bookstore Sdn. Bhd., Mr. Norman Rajen Abdullah, General Manager, Import and Export Division, Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad; and Tuan. Hj. Mohd Ghaus bin Ab. Kadir, Deputy Director General (Operation), DPE. This dialogue was attended by more than 40 representatives from the retail industry, such as AEON Co. (M) Berhad, MYDIN Mohamed Holdings Berhad,

PETRONAS Retail, KL Sogo, Brilliant Merchandising, Parkson Corporation Sdn. Bhd. and HomePro, among others.

DPE believes that the Focus Group Dialogue with industry participation and collaboration can ensure that the programs being offered at polytechnics remain relevant.

Currently, the Department of Polytechnic Education offers 10 Degree programs, 9 advanced diploma and 68 diploma programs. The 5 Polytechnics which are now offering Diploma in Retailing are Politeknik Ungku Omar,

Ipoh; Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah, Tanjung Malim; Politeknik Negeri Sembilan, Nilai; and Politeknik Metro KL. DPE has been conducting retail programs in several polytechnics and hopes to produce quality graduates in retailing who can contribute towards a sustainable economy and impact society in a positive way. The program is conducted in Work-based Learning concept to fulfill industry requirements where students will be spending 1 year in the industry while attending the program.

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I FEATURE I

By Technologists, For Technologists President of Technological Association Malaysia, Ir. Tang Heap Seng shares the benefits and privileges of becoming a member of the association.

O

riginally founded in 1932, the association was shortlived and it wasn’t until a few years later that the association was revived in the states of Perak and Kuala Lumpur. It continued to flourish until the Second World War and attempts were made by the former members to resuscitate it – leading to the formation of the Technical Association of Malaysia on 15 April 1946. To reflect the multi-professional memberships, the association’s name was changed to the Technological Association Malaysia (TAM) in 1972.

Opened for membership to technologists of all levels and disciplines, TAM is intimately concerned with the advances in technological progress as well as the pursuit of knowledge in the field of technology. From professionals to students and everyone whose career is technological in nature, one can be sure to turn to TAM for a clearer understanding and appreciation of technology. The association also aims to instill among members, an impelling desire to achieve professional competence and the highest standard of technological skills.

“TAM is a learner’s society, an NGO which is also the longest serving technical civil society. No other society would dare challenge us because there isn’t any other technical society that has served longer than us. In this civil society, our members are people who have qualifications in the technical field, traditional engineering field or even in the modern technology field. They 30 | UP MAGAZINE

are multi-discipline and multi-qualified members who are all related to the technology field, technical field and engineering, although many people do not know how to differentiate technology and engineering,” said Ir. Tang Heap Seng, President of Technological Association Malaysia.

Having a very wide range of membership, TAM is the melting pot of technological exchanges amongst members from many walks of life. It provides a forum for discussion, evaluation of technological issues and advances.

Apart from organising talks, forums, technical visits and tours for its members the association also work hand-in-hand with other aligned Non-Governmental Organisations and agencies such as the Institution Of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), Confederation of Scientific and Technological Associations in Malaysia (COSTAM), ERA, Real Estate and

Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA), Ministry of Human Resources, MPSC, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) for matters of common interests beneficial to TAM’s members.

“We accept members with the right qualifications, even if they are not practising because TAM is an association, not an accredited body. The required qualifications depend on the membership category. I believe that being a member of TAM prepares one for the exposure they need in order to do well in the industry. With the establishment of TAM, our members would know that there is such an organisation that takes care of the upgrading, networking and interaction within various fields of the technical line,” said Tang.

He added, “This is where technologists can meet people of the same category, who are in various

different fields. For engineers and technology practitioners, their work sometimes require a lot of networking with people from different fields. And this is the place where they can exchange ideas and seek for professional advice.”

With branches in Selangor, Perak, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor and Sabah, TAM is also the only gateway for qualified technical personnel to get through to the ASEAN Engineers Register, according to Tang. Its longlived establishment in the country has given TAM the reputation and credibility to venture into many collaborations and co-operations with various government agencies and NGOs. With its strong rapport, TAM have even been granted funds by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to work on youth projects in Batu Gajah, Perak, raising awareness of solid waste management.

In its efforts to promote the art and science of engineering, TAM had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman to coorganise workshops, seminars, talks, technical visits, as well as funding for joint research in UTAR and other activities of common interest to TAM and UTAR. Besides that, the collaboration is also aimed to enhance the learning, teaching, and research at UTAR and to provide a valued channel to network and build industry link for the students.

TAM’s other existing projects include the Pulau Ketam Boardwalk projects and the Cameron Highlands water ways project.

“On top of our collaborations, TAM is the founder member of the Malaysian Service Provider Confederation which was formed to gather all professional bodies and service provider NGOs under on roof and we have been appointed by government agencies like the Malaysian Board of Technologists and the Engineering Technology Accreditation Council to provide input on n policy and practices matters relating to technical issues,” claimed Tang.

To keep its members in the know, TAM publishes its own magazine to

“...the competition is no longer within the country, but intra-country within the ASEAN region. Developers are sourcing for foreign manpower due to the local shortage. Hence, Malaysians need to buck up and solidify themselves.”

make sure that its members are well connected and informed of general matters of interest.

“It is important for our members to know of the importance of the ASEAN Engineers Register and the Malaysian Board of Technologies. At present, these are the things that technologists should know because the competition is no longer within the country, but intra-country within the ASEAN region.

Developers are sourcing for foreign manpower due to the local shortage.

Hence, Malaysians need to buck up and solidify themselves,” explained Tang.

TAM is an established training centre for technologists and it is certified by the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF). They run various training programmes, including Microsoft,

Android application, CISCO and ICT, which were done in collaboration with KnowledgeCom. In addition, TAM organises seminars and site-visit for multi-disciplines of technologists, as well as sending its representatives to give lectures in various universities.

Over the years, TAM has been very well-exposed and they look forward to keeping up their outstanding reputation.

“Moving forward, we will work in the direction of having more technologists and technicians being registered in the ASEAN Engineering Register, as well as in the Malaysian Board of Technologists because that is most important to increase the standards of technicality of technical personnel, competence and their mobility across the country,” Tang concluded.

UP MAGAZINE | 31

I FEATURE I

MEMBERSHIPS

Membership to TAM varies in two categories – corporate and non-corporate – but in these two categories there are subcategories.

* CORPORATE: FELLOW Open to technologists who are not less than 30 years of age and in possession of recognised professional qualifications acceptable to the Executive Committee and who have held a position of higher responsibility in technical employment for at least five years. Member must also have been a member of TAM for a minimum of five years.

Entrance Fee: RM30 Annual Subscription: RM80

* NON-CORPORATE MEMBER: STUDENT MEMBER This category of membership is open to technologists who have obtained their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia or a recognised equivalent, and who are studying for the technical profession at a recognised Technical Institution with prior approval of the Vice Chancellor concerned. No person shall remain a student member after 31st December in the year in which he completes his 30th year of age.

Entrance Fee: RM20 Annual Subscription: RM20

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* CORPORATE: MEMBER Members should have necessary academic and/or professional qualifications and are already in technical employment of a status and responsibility acceptable to the Executive Committee. This is also open to technologists who are in possession of academic qualifications and are already in technical employment for at least five years while attaining a status and position of responsibility acceptable to the Executive Committee.

Entrance Fee: RM30 Annual Subscription: RM50

* NON-CORPORATE MEMBER: GRADUATE MEMBER Those who have satisfactorily completed a course of instruction for a minimum period of three years at a recognised Technical Institution.

Entrance Fee: RM30 Annual Subscription: RM40

* NON-CORPORATE MEMBER: ASSOCIATE MEMBER Open to those who are interested in the Technological Association Malaysia, but are not eligible for election to the other classes of membership.

Entrance Fee: RM30 Annual Subscription: RM30

I FEATURE I

GlaxoSmithKline Malaysia’s First “Bring Our Children To Work Day” Children gained worthwhile experience and learned the type of work that happens at parents’ workplace.

W

hile some children were off to holiday camps or just stayed at home during the recent school break, the children of the staff at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Malaysia had the opportunity to follow their parents to work for a day. As part of its first “Bring Our Children to Work Day”, GSK Malaysia played host to 50 children which gave these children the opportunity to see their parents at work and experience the company culture.

Fun, educational and hands-on scientific activities – from attending sales and marketing meeting to science workshops – were planned for the children, aged between 3 and 18. The special programme started off with a high energy Zumba dancing for the children to boost their focus, energy and metabolism, reinforcing the importance of staying healthy and active. Another activity organised was the “Bricks for Kids” session where the children got to play with LEGO and build their own structures. This session encouraged cognitive development and refined key motor skills amongst the children where

they learned to analyse, organise and combine their creative ideas. They also got their hands dirty for the environment as they learned to plant a tree to better understand about the environmental benefits of tree planting and the logic behind it.

After lunch, the children had a fun time during the science workshop whereby they were taught to create simulated erupting volcanoes and build junk boats. A truly hands-on science project, it challenged their imagination, nurtured their scientific growth and

helped them to understand about the power of volcanoes and other natural forces. Other activities held were health, educational and art based – including dental checks, face painting, sand art and even a simulated marketing team meeting. The day’s activity ended with a card decoration activity and a closing ceremony.

“This tag-along visit to the office allows our staff to bond with their children and give our young ones a first-hand look at what their parents do when they are away at work for the day. In addition, it will also make them aware of the diverse careers that can exist and the wide array of skills needed in a workplace,” said Naveed Ahmed, Channel Director of GSK Malaysia.

UP MAGAZINE | 33

I INDUSTRY INSIGHT I

Bright Future

for ICT Professionals

PIKOM reveals that ICT Job Market continues to show growth despite challenging economic factors with ICT Services subsector remaining as the key growth sector in the industry.

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34 | UP MAGAZINE

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY OF ICT PROFESSIONALS 2009–2016 4.7%

8500

5.3%

8000

7.9%

7500 Ringgit Malaysia

7.1%

7000

6.9%

6500

10.9%

6000

8.2%

5500 5000

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

5,200

5,626

6,238

6,667

7,142

7,706

8,114

8,406

• The average monthly salary of ICT professionals rose from RM7,706 in 2014 to RM8,114, in 2015, recording a 5.3% growth rate.

• It was the lowest growth rate in eight years.

• The average monthly salary growth forecasted for 2016 is 4.7%.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK 12 10

9.5

8 9.0 6

9.9

8.9

9.810.0 9.2

7.3

8.9 6.1

4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10

5.4

5.8

6.8

5.66.3 4.8 5.3

0.5

7.4

5.6

5.9

5.2 4.7

5.0 4.5 4.5

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

he recent 2016 ICT Job Market Outlook Report by the National ICT Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) indicated continued salary growth for ICT professionals in 2015 and overall positive prospects for the sector despite a number of challenging factors that have hit our country since 2014 such as the slowdown of the economy, the drop in the prices of crude oil and commodities, the depreciation of the Ringgit against major currencies and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The report revealed that the average monthly salary of an ICT professional in Malaysia grew from RM7,706 in 2014 to RM8,114 in 2015, an increase of 5.3%. This year, the projected average monthly salary is RM8,496, a 4.7% increase over 2015.

“It’s been a challenging 2015 for the industry. But we have achieved positive growth in particular, driven by expansion in ICT Services. While ICT Manufacturing has been slowing, Services have been experiencing consistent growth in the last two decades. Consistent with industry growth, wages have also gone up though at a slower growth rate than predicted last year,” shared PIKOM Chairman, Chin Chee Seong.

In 2015, an IT Project Manager in Malaysia earned more than their counterparts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and India but much less than the ones in United States, United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

The total ICT value in Malaysia for 2015

-1.5

-7.4

PIKOM forecasts a GDP growth rate of 4.5% for both 2016 and 2017, with perhaps a more positive outlook for 2017 at 4.7% growth rate.

is estimated to be RM155.2 billion, based on the Average Annual Growth Rate (AAGR) of 8% for the period 20102015. The share of the ICT industry to the economy expanded from 16.5% in 2010 to 17.6% in 2015.

The main driver of the ICT industry growth is the ICT Services subsector whose share to the GDP rose from 3.3% in 2000 to 6.6% in 2015 and is projected to reach 7 % by end of 2016.

“It has been a challenging 2015 for the industry. But we have achieved positive growth that has been particularly driven by and thanks to, the expansion in the ICT Services subsector. While ICT Manufacturing subsector has been slowing, the ICT Services subsector has been experiencing positive growth in the last two decadesConsistent with industry growth, salaries also rose although at a slower growth rate,” said Chin.

Generally all ICT job categories, namely the fresh graduates, junior executives, senior executives, middle level managers and senior managers registered a positive salary increase in 2015 albeit with a lower-than-expected growth.

In Table 2, the construction/building/ engineering industries posted the highest AAGR of the average monthly salary of ICT professionals for the 2009 to 2015 period, at 8.8%, followed by

AVERAGE MONTHLY ICT SALARY BY ICT CORE & USER SECTOR & JOB CATEGORY IN 2015 SLIDE 18,000 16,241

15,704

16,000 14,000 12,000 10,542 9,571

10,000 8,000 6,398

6,351

6,000 4,000 2,000 Average Monthly Salary 2015

3,808 2,813 ICT

Non-ICT Fresh Executives

2,813

3,815

2,603

2,603

ICT Non-ICT ICT Junior Executives

ICT Non-ICT ICT Senior Executives

ICT

3,808

6,398

10,542

3,815

6,351

Non-ICT Middle Level Manager 9,571

ICT Non-ICT Senior Level Manager 16,241

15,704

Generally there is no distinct differences in salaries earned by ICT professionals in the ICT core and user sector except a minor gap in the middle level manager category. heavy industry/machinery; agriculture/ plantation/aquaculture; and chemical/ fertilisers/pesticides.

“The oil, gas and petroleum sector is still ranked as one of the overall toppaying industries by job categories despite the current industry downturn,” said PIKOM Research Committee Chair Woon Tai Hai. “In fact in the fresh graduates, senior executives and middle manager job

education (8.6%); automotive/heavy industry/machinery (8.5%) and electrical and electronics (8.5%). Not surprisingly, the oil/gas/petroleum industry which has been experiencing a downturn, registered an AAGR of 4.7% over the same period and a 2.9% year-on-year growth in 2015. However, oil/gas/ petroleum was in the top five paying industries by job category. The other four are banking services; automotive/

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY OF ICT PROFESSIONALS BY JOB INDUSTRY Job Category

Fresh Graduates: Entry Level

Unit

RM

2009

1,971

Y-O-Y (%)

Junior Executives: 1-4 years working Experience RM

Y-O-Y (%)

Senior Executives: > 4 years working Experience RM

Y-O-Y (%)

RM

Y-O-Y (%)

Overall

Senior Manager

RM

Y-O-Y (%)

RM

Y-O-Y (%)

5,200

10,368

6,163

4,332

2,800

Middle Level Manager

2010

2,181

10.7

2,936

4.9

4,514

4.2

7,005

13.7

10,795

4.1

5,626

8.2

2011

2,238

2.6

3,151

7.3

5,039

11.6

7.837

11.9

12,166

12.7

6,238

10.9

2012

2,324

3.8

3,205

1.7

5,344

6.1

8,434

7.6

13,674

12.4

6,667

6.9

2013

2,438

4.9

3,439

7.3

5,744

7.5

8,986

6.5

14,661

7.2

7,142

7.1

2014

2,581

5.9

3,719

8.1

6,157

7.2

9,591

6.7

16,057

9.5

7,706

7.9

2015

2,718

5.3

3,894

4.7

6,483

5.3

10,195

6.3

17,053

6.2

8,114

5.3

2016

2,846

4.7

4,081

4.8

6,743

4.0

10,725

5.2

17,939

5.8

8,496

4.7

Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR): 2010-2015

4.5

5.8

7.5

7.8

9.6

7.6

UP MAGAZINE | 35

I INDUSTRY INSIGHT I

categories, the oil, gas and petroleum was in the top five paying industries in 2015 posting an average monthly salary of RM2,984, RM8,291 and RM11,804 respectively,” he added.

However, PIKOM acknowledged that the 5.3% salary growth for 2015 for the overall average monthly salary of ICT professionals is the lowest in eight years. While the industry expected a downturn, it certainly did not expect an impact of such magnitude.

“Perhaps it is also a wake-up call for the industry to realise that although salaries have been growing, future salary growth cannot be taken for granted,” he explained.

The Challenge of Retaining Local Talent Remains As in previous years, the industry continues to face the exodus of talent who seek greener pastures overseas due to better salaries and remunerations. When benchmarked against Asia, United States and Middle East, Malaysia continues to lag behind in terms of salaries, which has been a key factor in the continued prevalence of the brain drain issue.

The Purchasing Power Parity Adjusted Criterion benchmarking scale in 2015, which takes into account inflation rates and fluctuations in the foreign exchange, showed that the average

monthly salary of an IT Project Manager at entry level in the United Arab Emirates and United States was respectively, 2.18 and 1.5 times more than in Malaysia. The average monthly salary of an entry level IT Project Manager, in Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore, was 1.95 times, 1.88 times and 1.38 times, respectively, more than in Malaysia.

According to PIKOM’s Chairman, it is imperative that both the industry and government tackle the issue of talent outflow through ensuring continuous stream of quality fresh graduates entering the work force, promoting R&D and commercialisation and maintaining competitive salary packages.

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY OF ICT PROFESSIONALS BY JOB INDUSTRY Overall ICT Industry Industry

Y-OY

AAGR: 2009-2015 (%)

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2014-2015 (%)

Construction/Building/ Engineering

2,538

2,834

3,138

3,322

3,758

3,998

4,201

5.1

8.8

Education

2,775

2,974

3,418

3,534

3,934

4,248

4,549

7.1

8.6

Automotive/Heavy Industry/Machinery

3,495

3,880

4,331

4,526

5,066

5,428

5,715

5.3

8.5

Electrical & Electronics

2,926

3,145

3,648

3,964

3,988

4,588

4,778

4.2

8.5

Agriculture/Plantation/Aquaculture

4,069

4,195

4,720

5,106

5,578

6,031

6,413

6.3

7.9

Banking Services

3,721

4,015

4,392

4,678

4,753

5,419

5,633

4.0

7.2

Services: Social Services/NGO

3,284

3,608

3,846

4,272

4,523

4,719

4,952

4.9

7.1

Chemical/Fertilisers/Pesticides

4,659

4,893

5,619

6,016

6,508

6,571

6,992

6.4

7.0

Property/Real Estate

3,581

3,761

4,981

4,811

4,977

5,234

5,363

2.5

7.0

Science & Technology/Aerospace/Bio Technology

3,726

3,861

4,266

4,803

4,872

5,248

5,396

2.8

6.4

Computer/IT (Software)

3,710

3,877

4,185

4,322

4,534

5,100

5,324

4.4

6.2

Wholesale/Retail/Trading

3,211

3,412

3,999

4,159

4,236

4,394

4,597

4.6

6.2

Consulting (Business/Technical)

3,809

4,115

4,349

4,531

4,760

5,234

5,412

3.4

6.0

Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO

3,822

4,025

4,344

4,426

4,632

5,181

5,296

2.2

5.6

Financial Services/Securities/ Insurance

3,881

4,088

4,298

4,592

4,716

5,103

5,295

3.8

5.3

Transport/Storage/Freight/Shipping

4,013

4,127

4,377

4,424

4,899

5,160

5,343

3.5

4.9

Computer/IT/(Hardware)

3,696

3,998

4,117

4,303

4,518

4,720

4,913

4.1

4.9

Hotel/Restaurant/Food Service/Hospitality

3,092

3,272

3,376

3,682

43,837

3,951

4,103

3.8

4.8

Oil/Gas/Petroleum

4,465

4,800

5,096

5,447

5,504

5,723

5,888

2.9

4.7

Telecommunication

3,952

4,049

4,401

4,558

4,758

5,042

5,206

3.3

4.7

Semiconductor/Water Fabrication

3,998

4,114

4,671

4,803

4,813

4,978

5,238

5.2

4.6

Utilities

4,048

4,120

4,453

4,685

4,820

4,938

5,115

3.6

4.0

Manufacturing/Production

4,047

4,193

4,510

4,567

4,754

4,947

5.079

2.7

3.9

Printing/Publishing

3,079

3,200

3,327

3,432

3,597

3,659

3,731

2.0

3.3

Table 1: Job Market Trends in Malaysia

Source: Jobstreet.com and PIKOM,2015

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I FEATURE I

Upbringing National

Cyber Security Workforce

By Kavitha Muthy

T

he ability of academia and public and private sector employers to prepare, educate, recruit, train, develop, and retain a highly-qualified cybersecurity workforce has remarkable impact on our nation’s security, especially on matters related to finance.

The shortage of trained and qualified cybersecurity talent in the country is alarming. As we all are aware, the cybersecurity workforce must keep up with emerging risks, threats, and vulnerabilities due to rapid change of

38 | UP MAGAZINE

technologies. This requires more rapid skill and knowledge acquisition than other functional areas. In fact, this also requires a compelling case for the need for innovative, robust privatepublic partnerships, and the capacity for cybersecurity talent to move more easily between public and private sector jobs and in and out of academia to keep in specified state of developed skills and advance the collective knowledge base for future capabilities.

We need to play an aggressive role to help increase cybersecurity

awareness and competence across the nation and to build an agile, highly skilled cybersecurity workforce capable of responding to a dynamic and rapidly evolving array of threats.

There are huge demands for cybersecurity professionals as a results of the rising number of cyber threats and hacker activities. We are in the era of Web 2.0 and IoT (Internet of Things) the term cybersecurity has stretched to an unprecedented level and scope, thus the cybersecurity market has flourished.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, organisations

are understaffed when it comes to cyber security. According to Cybersecurity Malaysia (CSM), an agency under MOSTI, Malaysia is currently facing an acute shortage of cyber security professionals in both the public and private sectors. Some companies do not have sufficient manpower to continuously monitor extended network and detect infiltrations in a timely and effective manner. CSM further reported that up to October 2015, there were about 5,200 cyber security professionals in Malaysia with an estimated Internet user population base of about 20.56 million. This is equivalent to a ratio of one cyber security professional for every 4,000 Internet users – a figure that is below our target. With strategic human capital development plans in place, we aim to achieve at least 10,000 professionals by 2020. This figure is still far below our need to serve the rapidly growing Internet population in Malaysia to leapfrog as a developed nation by the year 2020.

The fact is, security skills shortage is real, and it is not going away anytime soon. Thus, training and educating a new generation of cyber security work force can take years. On the other hand, upgrading the cyber security skill set of current technical staff must be a continuous effort as it is part of their role and responsibility in safeguarding sensitive data and protect company resources. Many surveys say that there is a lack of adequate cyber security training for IT professionals. Companies prefer to hire entry-level candidates who have a Bachelor’s degree but hands-on experience and professional certifications are typically more useful for developing the skills. High-value technical skills are especially scarce. Skills such as secure software development, intrusion detection, attack mitigation, forensic investigation, incident handling are in greater demand. Without a doubt, cybersecurity has become the critical function of any organisation and a steady supply of cyber security experts is crucial in securing our Digital nation.

“We need to take on greater responsibilities in building highly qualified professionals with specialist skills to support the nation’s cyber safety.”

Understanding the need to build a competent generation of cybersecurity professionals, EC-Council Centre of Excellence (ECCCoE) have partnered with Cybersecurity Malaysia to provide added value for cybersecurity professionals.

ECCCoE promotes collaboration to strengthen the cybersecurity professionals’ development in Malaysia with a specific focus area to drive a secured nation. It consists of a team of dedicated people to deliver our goals by sharing knowledge, skills, experiences and ownership from both inside and outside of ECCCoE and best practices applied from the form of methods, tools, templates, approaches and ideas that have beneficial application across multiple customers, needs issues and projects in the area of cybersecurity.

ECCCoE aims to attract more professional stakeholders from various industries that fall under the Critical National Information Infrastructure sectors which includes National Defence & Security, Banking & Finance, Information & Communications, Energy, Transportation, Water, Health Services, Government and Emergency Services.

We need to take on greater responsibilities in building highly qualified professionals with specialist skills to support nation’s cyber safety.

At the EC-Council Center of Excellence, we create a knowledge generation capable of fending off the ever-evolving cybersecurity threats. This is to produce high-value and skilled digital citizens of the future who will keep Malaysia’s cyberspace safe as we head into a new digital era.

Kavitha Muthy holds a Master in Business Administration majoring in International Business from the University of East London. She is the first woman in Malaysia to have achieved Master of Business Continuity Professional (MBCP) and was awarded the Best Industry New Comer of the Year 2013 & Best Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) 2014 in Malaysia. She is also a certified e-Business Professional in Project Management & Customer Relationship Management) as well as a Certified PSMB Trainer.

She is currently the Principal Consultant of EC-COUNCIL Centre of Excellence, world leader in Information Security Training and Certification. She provides premium consultation and advisory services in the areas of Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Information Security with an independent approach based on industry best practices.

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I FEATURE I

Bridging Academic Learning & Industry Skills

Dr Juergen Schloesser, Senior Vice President, Operations, B. Braun Medical Industries & Head, Global Centre Of Excellence For Intravenous Access, shares his vision for the company and its partnership with the Penang Skill Development Corporation in developing skilled talent for the industry.

Can you explain the nature of the B.Braun’s business?

B. Braun is a leading global provider of healthcare solutions related to infusion therapy, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, anaesthesia, extracorporeal blood treatment, spine surgery, diabetes care, clinical nutrition, wound management, infection prevention and surgical technologies. We have over 55,000 employees in 64 countries. Around the world, B. Braun’s products and services are trusted for their high quality and safety standards by medical professionals. We also advance medical education for medical practitioners through our worldrenowned Aesculap Academy.

Can you also briefly tell us about B.Braun expansion plans in Malaysia?

Launched in 2009, the B. Braun expansion project involves the development of our entire Penang site: comprising new offices and production buildings as well as state-of-the-art automation and production technology.

The project focuses on architectural design, space utilization and ecological compatibility. The great emphasis on green areas, covered walkways with natural air ventilation and a multi-storey car park shows our commitment to the well-being of our employees and the environment. Between 2010 and 2015, B. Braun invested more than RM2 billion 40 | UP MAGAZINE

into the expansion project and created an additional 2,600 jobs for Malaysians.

How significant is B.Braun in Malaysia as compared to other B.Braun operations around the world?

Established in 1972, B. Braun Medical Industries in Penang, Malaysia is B. Braun first site in the Asia Pacific region and one of the Group’s largest production sites with over 7,000 employees today.

Products made in Penang such as IV catheters, hypodermic needles, special needles, elastomeric pumps, surgical instruments and pharmaceutical solutions are exported around the world; especially to Europe, Japan and the United States. B. Braun’s Asia Pacific regional headquarters and the Group’s global Centre of Excellence for Intravenous Access with full research and development capabilities are also located in Penang. From our offices in Petaling Jaya, B. Braun serves Malaysian healthcare professionals and patients with our high quality solutions and services.

Are there any competitors in the market for B.Braun? If yes, what makes B.Braun stand out compared to your competitors?

B. Braun is a world-trusted healthcare company that has served patients and medical practitioners for over 175

years, and the company is still growing dynamically around the world. We will continue to share expertise in dialogue with our partners in order to innovate and advance healthcare solutions of the highest quality and safety standards, in order to protect and improve the health of people around the world.

What is your opinion regarding our TVET (skills base) graduates and the programs in Malaysia in terms of meeting the requirement and demand of the industry?

The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is an alternative educational stream that will increase the number of students who will have more technical skills as required by industry when they enter the workforce, as compared to a purely academic educational stream. The TVET Curriculum Board includes industry players; and the programme is governed by the National Occupation Skills Standard (NOSS).

Because of its strong focus on practical skill training for actual industry needs in their studies, TVET students will have greater work-readiness.

As for our university graduates, do you think their talent and skills match the demands of the industry? If not, what is

the level of skills mismatch on a scale of 1-10?

All relevant parties comprising industry to government ministries and agencies are engaged in active dialogue and several initiatives have been launched to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry needs. One such initiative is the German Dual Vocational Training (DVT) programm, which supports the demand for highly-skilled technicians in Malaysia’s manufacturing industry by equipping apprentices with strong manufacturingrelated theoretical and practical knowledge and skills. DVT is accredited by both NOSS of the Ministry of Human Resource and the Malaysian-German Chamber of Commerce (MGCC). DVT was launched in September 2015 with 22 apprentices from B. Braun, Osram and Inari in the field of Mechatronics.

New batches of DVT apprentices will be trained every year and more disciplines will also be added.

The Penang Skill Development Corporation (PSDC) has come a long way since it was established. How has the organisation evolved over the years?

Established in 1989, the PSDC has undergone three distinct growth phases.

In Phase One, a severe shortage of skilled workers plagued the manufacturing industry in Penang. Training initiatives by the companies were insufficient to overcome the shortage. In response to the requirements of the multinational and local companies, the PSDC was set up to overcome the human resource challenges.

In Phase Two, the scope and breadth of the PSDC’s training and intervention programs were expanded to prepare the industries for global competitiveness.

Strategic alliances were formed and knowledge transfer processes were formalised through smart partnerships.

SME development initiatives took centre stage.

In Phase Three, the PSDC assumed a larger role to help the industry move

up the value chain by venturing into newer and more innovative areas of HRD, aimed at enhancing the industry ecosystem. The provision of value-added services has become one of the PSDC’s main focus. In its next phase of growth, the PSDC will continue to facilitate the development of new knowledgeintensive technologies, and nurture creative and innovative human capital to drive and support the economy as it enters into the new era of Industry 4.0.

What types of training does PSDC provide?

Since its inception, the PSDC has provided many programmes and services in collaboration with its industry partners, and these offerings continue to evolve with technological advancement and the changing demands and trends of industry. Some of PSDC’s key programmes revolve around Engineering, Leadership and Business Management, Technical Development, Information Technology, Information Systems and Technology Programmes and Shared Lab Services.

As a leader in a MNC in Penang, what are your views on PSDC’s role in supporting the development and the growth of Penang’s manufacturing and industrial sectors?

PSDC has been a significant and key partner of B. Braun and other Penangbased companies in the development of skilled talent for the industry for over 25 years. We have collaborated on many strategic and successful human resource initiatives. The latest example, which I had mentioned earlier, was the joint establishment and rollout of the German Dual Vocational Training programme, which will generate highly skilled and competent technical workers for industry in Penang. This in turn will contribute greatly towards the socioeconomic growth of the country as it strives to achieve its goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy and a high income nation by the year 2020.

What is your vision for PSDC and where do you see PSDC in next 5 years?

My vision for the PSDC is that it develops to become a world-class provider and facilitator of shared learning for the manufacturing and service industries. With globalisation, the borders of international businesses have almost dissolved and this has also resulted in highly intense global competition. It is vital for Penang to move up the value chain and retain its edge as a leading investment and manufacturing hub for global industries. PSDC must lead the way for Penang by continuing to create and nurture a workforce of highly dynamic, skilled and competent talent, who are able to perform at global standards. PSDC has already laid a strong foundation over the past 27 years, and It is my hope that PSDC will strategically revolutionise its next phase of growth.

Do you think PSDC is still relevant as Malaysia has many higher institutes and technical colleges? How can PSDC continue to be relevant?

To date, the organisation has trained more than 200,000 participants through 10,000 courses; pioneered local industry development initiatives, assisted in the input and formulation of national policies pertaining to human capital development and contributes directly to the Malaysian workforce transformation initiatives.

The PSDC still maintains its relevance as it plays a catalytic role in industrial progress and is a critical pillar of support for the human resource development for Penang and Malaysia. As a unique, nonprofit training and educational centre built upon a tripartite partnership between the industry, academia and government, the PSDC is well-positioned to draw on the direct involvement and support of its stakeholders.

This synergistic relationship has allowed the PSDC to evolve together with the changing needs of the industry as well as produce industry-ready students and trainees which are of international standards.

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I FEATURE I

Helping Three Misplaced Workforce Segments Kerjaya Sukses’s special CSR Initiative aimed at helping unemployed graduates, executives in work transition and women returning to work, navigate their career challenges.

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R

ealising the critical numbers in unemployment rates these days, Kerjaya Sukses Sdn Bhd has launched its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative that would benefit three key segments of workforce – high school leavers or unemployed graduates, executives undergoing a career change or in transition and single mothers or women returning to work.

The CSR initiative is in response to the nation’s existing talent gap that has been aggravated by the current ‘soft’ economy, said Tan Sri Datuk Seri Azizan Ariffin, Chairman of Kerjaya Sukses, a local partner of global Human Resource consulting firm, BTI Consultants.

“Findings have shown that the country is losing out on critical talent found in unemployed graduates, retrenched workers and female labour participation. These categories of individuals are very vulnerable talent resource, but have been misplaced due to economic circumstances.”

Kerjaya Sukses’ CSR initiative is aimed at addressing the talent and human resource issues that are related to national interests by leveraging its close partnership with BTI Consultants.

Industr y trends and research shows that employees in Malaysia are increasingly concerned about job security with the number of Malaysian professionals fearful of losing their jobs has more than doubled since the fourth quarter of 2014. A survey found that 13% of Malaysian employees were worried about job security in 2015, compared to 6% in the previous year.

According to the findings from Maybank Research, the total number of retrenched workers have been rising year-on-year since the third quarter of 2014. Retrenchments in the oil and gas sector has been on the uptrend since the second half of 2014 and accelerated in the first quarter of 2015.

At the same time, service industries like finance, insurance, business ser vices, transportation, storage

“We are passionate about coaching others to achieve their full potential and we take pride in doing all we can to ensure the people we support are enabled to make career changes that will suit their life choices and background.” ~ Tan Sri Azizan

and communications also showed uptrends. The Malaysian Employers Federation revealed that 26,000 people were retrenched in 2015 and more are expected this year, while the Human Resources Ministry said that in January this year, 5,009 workers were retrenched.

As for university graduates, the Human Resources Ministry found that about 50,000 of the total undergraduates who flood the job market annually end up unemployed. According to the Ministry, between 2010 and 2013, unemployed female graduates outnumbered their male counterparts. In 2013, there were 53,282 unemployed graduates, of whom 35% were males and 65% females.

The specific and tailored-made programmes will address the different needs of these identified segments in facing the current challenging economic climate. The programmes will be offered free of charge as part of Kerjaya Sukses’s ongoing courses to help those in need navigate their career challenges. The CSR programme is also very much in line with

TalentCorp’s initiatives to enhance talent availability and employability especially among women and undergraduates.

While Malaysia, through TalentCorp, has put in place various initiatives to harness and increase female talent participation to 59% by 2020 in line with the country’s transformation into a highincome economy, employers still lag behind in capitalising on the untapped female talent pool.

“Our programmes are aimed at helping to align and redirect the three key targeted workforce segments into growth industries that have a need for talent. Despite the ‘soft’ economy there are many industries such as shared services, e-commerce and project management with employment opportunities and that are hungry for talent,” said Tan Sri Azizan.

Among the programmes that will be offered free of charge are Resume Writing, Interview Skills, Effective Networking Skills, Financial Management and Thinking On Your Feet.

Registration for Kerjaya Sukses’ CSR programme can be done through the following channels on a first come first served basis: • Contact details: 03-2119 6998 • Telephone No.: 03-2119 6921 • Email address: info@kerjayasukses.com.my • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KerjayaSuksesMalaysia • Website: www.KerjayaSukses.com.my

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I FEATURE I

Deciphering HR from “Outside-In”

HR strategist and author, Professor Dr Dave Ulrich, gives insights on the “outside-in” perspective that can help companies grow and increase their revenue effectively.

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o keep pace with the fast changing business environment, companies must quickly adapt to the changes. Strong HR professionals, said leading HR strategist and author, Dr Dave Ulrich, are not only capable of driving change but advising organisations on how to turn HR challenges into winning practices.

Organisations, he said, shape how people think and act. Business leaders need to create an organisation culture that influences how employees think and act. With an outside-in mindset, the company starts by defining what his or her firm is known for by key customers,

Dato’ CM Vignaesvaran, HRDF Chief Executive (left) presenting a token of appreciation to Professor Dr Dave Ulrich (centre) during the launch of K-Pintar Executive Development Series. Looking in is Mr RA Thiagaraja, CEO of K-Pintar.

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then turns that external identity or brand into internal mindset and actions,” Dr Ulrich told participants at the Executive Development Series presented by K-Pintar, with the support of the Human Resources Development Fund (HRFD). The programme was launched by the Chief Executive of Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) of Malaysia, Dato’ CM Vignaesvaran, who emphasised how HRDF recognised the current trends, and the need to develop strategies that will best equip the markets and organisations with highskilled talents.

Dr Ulrich said that business leaders need to think seriously about how to

attract, retain, and motivate the right employees so that they find meaning from their work and remain productive.

VALUE A CEO once told Dr Ulrich that a business that took 50 over years to create could be out of business in two years. This is due to the volatility, uncertainty, pace of change, and the ambiguity which can take place inside the business.

“The scene is similar with HR, a HR professional should have the ability to unlearn and relearn, because the continuous cycle of learning changes.

Value is never defined by the person who does the work but by the receiver,”

“Leaders need to create an organisation culture that influences how employees think and act. With an outside-in mindset, the company starts by defining what his or her firm is known for by key customers, then turns that external identity or brand into internal mindset and actions.” ~ Dr. Dave Ulrich.

said Dr Ulrich, a professor at University of Michigan and a partner at the RBL Group which he co-founded. The Group offers HR, organisation, and leadership advisory services to multinational firms worldwide.

He pointed out that the best HR people seek out those who can give value and who are value getters from the work that they do. “The focus should also be on clients and investors. When HR can connect that and create value, then it would be a much more successful attempt. Strategic HR used to be looking in the mirror, but it has been redefined as looking outside the window to create the practices inside,” explained Dr Ulrich.

LEADERSHIP Leadership, he said, is about wearing your brand every day and how conscience you have to be about it. A CEO creates a brand and so does an executive. The main focus of leaders should be on building strategies and delivering value to those they want to serve. A leader should know just how to put his or her head on a swivel, observe and listen, and surround himself or herself with people who are honest and blunt on the things they are doing right and wrong.

TALENT Talent means investing in the next generation who has the ambition, ability, agility, and has achievement in their list

of accolades. “Bosses often think that the discussion of talent often concerns employees who report directly or indirectly to them, not about themselves.

Yet talent improvement applies to them as well in three ways: succession, customisation, and modelling.”

Succession is about how well the leader has built the next generation of leadership, or succession.

Dr Ulrich found that there are top leaders who feel threatened by talented subordinates who may outshine them.

“When these leaders make decisions to hinder the next generation, they undermine their personal credibility and damage the company’s future. Hence, succession requires self-confidence, vision, getting to know a broad spectrum of employees, vast political tact, and candid reviews.”

Customised experiences involves developing leaders through a series of development experiences. These includes, internal coaching to look at their strengths and weaknesses, making personal changes to improve, targeted visits with peer executives, participating with philanthropic groups, targeted training, and tailored learnings, he said.

Modelling is a situation where, as leaders moves up the ladder, they become more visible, they are also observed through their decision making, how they treat others, and how well they handle a conflict. “What leaders do is

louder and more visible than what they say,” said Dr Ulrich.

CULTURE He stated that culture is the identity of an organisation in the mind of the most critical client. Culture, from the outside in, is the distinctiveness of an organisation in the minds of a key client. “What this means is that culture is defined by clients, whilst the values and behaviours are created from what clients want and need.”

HR people are architects who build the blueprint for value, leadership, talent and culture. “As anthropologist, we observe and ask, ‘Are we building talent that will solve problem and a culture that clients want?’ ” Ulrich urged leaders to define desired culture through the eyes of key clients, to make it real with the top down agenda, to communicate it, and to inform the employees on what matters. Using this as a guide, HR can be transformed to help drive business impact at all levels.

“This is one of the most exhilarating and risky times that I’ve ever seen in my 42 years of HR. We have first-class HR professionals who have equal profiles with elite CEOs. And we’re the ones to bring knowledge built around value, leadership, talent, and culture that will help organisations succeed,” he stated.

Dr Dave Ulrich is a professor at University of Michigan and a partner at the RBL Group which he co- founded. The Group offers HR, organisation, and leadership advisory services to multinational firms worldwide. These include Citigroup, Procter & Gamble, and Starbucks. He has published over 200 articles and over 25 books.

Forbes had hailed him as “one of the world’s top five business coaches” (2000) and Fast Company named him “one of the 10 most innovative and creative thinkers” (2005).

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I FEATURE I

10Companies 2016

TOP

As voted by Malaysian employees Oil and gas companies remain highly sought-after by employees, securing the two top spots for yet another year.

F

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9

Maybank

5

Public bank

8

4 Tenaga Nasional Berhad

7

3

Intel

6

Nestle

2

Air Asia

1

Sime Darby

Google

Shell

Petronas

or two years consecutively, Malaysia’s state oil firm, Petronas, is the top choice of those seeking employment, with Anglo-Dutch multinational, Shell, coming in second. Taking the third spot is tech heavyweight, Google.

10

According to the JobStreet.com Top 10 Companies 2016 survey which drew the participation of over 7,900 respondents, Sime Darby and Maybank grabbed the fourth and fifth placing respectively. Completing the Top 10 list in order of ranking were Air Asia, Nestle, Intel, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Public Bank.

Dato’ Raiha Azni Abd Rahman, Senior Vice President, Group Human Resource Management, Petronas, said that as a global energy player, the company believes in growing and developing its people as a critical priority of business in order to successfully operate in today’s challenging business environment.

“As such we strive to cultivate a work culture that is strongly grounded on Petronas’ Shared Values of Loyalty, Integrity, Professionalism and Cohesiveness to attract, motivate and retain talent. This award is recognition of these efforts and further propels our brand as Malaysia’s preferred employer.”

The survey found that across all position levels, “Benefits and Incentives” surfaced as the main reason employees want to work with top companies. With monetary gains being a key motivating factor, salary was stated as their next top reason.

Meanwhile, senior level participants chose “Working Environment and Culture” as their third reason for wanting to work for a top company, while those in the junior levels picked “Training & Development” as their third factor.

As for challenges they expect to see when working for a top company, the first cited response was “Company Politics”, followed by “Harder to Get Noticed and Promoted” and “Difficult to Perform as Expectations are Higher”.

Chook Yuh Yng, Country Manager, JobStreet.com. said that one may have

TOP: From left: Johan Mahmood Merican, Chief Executive Officer, TalentCorp Malaysia; Suresh Thiru, Chief Executive Officer, SEEK Asia; and Chook Yuh Yng, Country Manager, JobStreet.com, with the top 10 winners of the JobStreet.com Top 10 Companies 2016 award.

LEFT: From left: Ungku Haslina Ungku M Tahir, Senior General Manager, Human Capital Management for Petronas; Johan Mahmood Merican, Chief Executive Officer, TalentCorp Malaysia; Suresh Thiru, Chief Executive Officer, SEEK Asia.

TOP CHALLENGES surface-level opinions on a company but not have a deep understanding on its work practices and culture. However, with JobStreet.com’s newly launched ‘Company Reviews’, candidates are able to get real insights on the working realities of companies in Malaysia and be empowered to make more informed choices about their careers, she said.

1. Company politics 2. Harder to get noticed/promoted 3. Difficult to perform as expectations are higher 4. Layers in company hierarchy 5. Weak relationships between employee/employer

“It also gives employers visibility around what people are saying about their companies and allows them to respond and handle those comments through the transparency we offer.

We believe this will result in hirers getting more relevant applications and employees who are a great cultural fit,” she added.

Pull Factors Of Top Companies Junior Level

Senior Level • Benefits and Incentives • Salary

• Training and Development

• Working Environment and Culture

• Working Environment and Culture

• Company Reputation

• Company Reputation

• Training and Development

• Internal Promotion Prospects and Career Growth • Quality of Leadership/Management

NOTE: A total of 7,958 respondents across different age groups, genders and educational levels from various industries in Malaysia took part in this survey conducted in December 2015.

JobStreet.com is a leading online job board presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. It currently services over 230,000 corporate hirers and over 15 million jobseekers in its database.

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I FEATURE I

Human Resource

Professionals Meet At JobStreet.com’s HR Networking Event We’ve sat through one of the most anticipated events in the Human Resouce wfield and picked up a lesson or two to share with you.

T

he JobStreet.com’s 17th HR Networking Event, which was receltly held brought together over 300 Human Resource professionals from various industries at the One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya.

This annual event serves as an effective educational platform, where Human Resource experts are able to share their knowledge and insights with other practitioners from all around the country.

The theme for this year, “Building a Talent Ready Organisation 2017”, was aimed at helping HR practitioners tackle industry issues anticipated for the year ahead. Sharing their expertise at the event were industry heavyweights like Sajith Sivanandan from Google, Azran Osman Rani from iflix Malaysia and Prashant Chadha from Aon Hewitt Malaysia.

The enthusiastic speakers were also supported by moderators and panelists from top companies, such as Maybank Group, Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), Malaysia Digital Economy

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CULTURE METAPHORS:

Victim-Player, Knower-Learner “The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while and ordinary man takes everything as a curse.” – Don Juan VICTIM

VS

• I’m curious what could be done differently • It’s my fault • We’ll find ways to do it • I may need help to get there, but there must be a way • I’ll make time for it

• Don’t blame me • It’s not my fault • It can’t be done • There’s nothing else I could have done • I don’t have time KNOWER • Closed to feedback and other ideas • Massive pressure to know all the answers • Fear of getting it wrong • Fear of changing mind

PLAYER

VS

LEARNER • Curious • Collaborative • Humble • Open

“Because of increased life expectancy, quality of living, low savings and pension age, workplaces will become more multi-generational, with four or even five generations working together.”

– Professor Loredana

Corporation (MDEC), DRB Hicom, Mindvalley and Sunway Group.

In addition, an inaugural masterclass on “Winning the Generation Battle” was conducted by Professor Loredana Padurean, Faculty Director for Action Learning from Asia School of Business, to teach HR practitioners how to manage diverse age groups within their organisations. In her class, she mentioned, “Because of increased life expectancy, quality of living, low savings and pension age, workplaces will become more multi-generational, with four or even five generations working together.”

During the event, there was also a special awards ceremony to recognise the JobStreet.com Top 10 Companies

BEST EMPLOYERS DRIVES HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE

100%

CEOs say training, tools and resources are provided to people managers to manage their teams

89%

CEOs expect people managers to coach and develop their teams as a high priority for the organisati

56%

People managers feel they are equipped for their role

2016. These companies were nominated based on the results of a survey conducted on over 7900 participants to find out what are the top companies that Malaysians aspire to work for.

SEEK Asia’s Chief Executive Officer, Suresh Thiru also delivered a speech at the event in which he highlighted JobStreet.com’s goals and initiatives, as well as its continuous evolution of product and service offerings to meet today’s hiring needs and challenges.

At the end of the JobStreet.com HR Networking Event 2016, contacts were developed and relationships were built among industry peers. Those who attended were pleased with the outcome, as they were able to hear from the experts, learn new skills and discover real solutions for major challenges – all in a fun and engaging environment.

MASTERCLASS:

SO WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN THE GENERATION BATTLE? • Moral responsibility • Togetherness • Experience and exposure • Humility and self-awareness • Education • Hard work • Honesty and respect • Dialogue and engagement • Curiosity and an open mind

(A Few) Work Rules by Google’s Managing Director for Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines & New Emerging Markets, Sajith Sivanandan 1. Give your work meaning 2. Trust your people 3. Hire only people who are better than you 4. Don’t confuse development with managing performance 5. Focus on the two tails 6. Be frugal and generous 7. Pay “unfairly” 8. Nudge 9. Manage the rising expectations 10. Enjoy! And then go back to No. 1

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I FEATURE I

Casual Rules

As temperatures rise thanks to global warming and more millenials join the workforce on a daily basis, a white collar’s everyday uniform gradually became more relaxed over the years. So how are you adapting to these changes?

By Jayen Chow/MINIMALYST style coach

O

n a global scale, the suitand-tie dressing policies are slowly fading to become a thing of the past. More companies – especially small and medium-sized ones – are allowing their employees to come to work in less formal dress codes. In the local scene, it is the shirt-and-tie look for the men and the skirt suit for the ladies.

By relaxing their strict hold on dressing, companies have turned the dress code into a standard benefit to keep their current employees happy and an attractive lure for young job seekers.

With everything gearing more towards individualism and personal branding, employers find their employees becoming happier campers when they are allowed to open up their minds and move more creatively. They can also learn how to use the time more efficiently when they no longer have to starch every white shirt and press each pair of pants or skirt.

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As the T-shirt and jeans outfit becomes staple for many who literally used to wear a white collar to work, it gives them a freedom to explore and let their attire speak for them. But should a company go from formal to casual in one fell swoop? This then begs the question of image.

WHAT’S THE IDENTITY? As claimed by a vast majority of psychologists and sociologists, first impressions are made not by personalities but by that 15-second head-to-toe scan. In that 15 seconds, a person gets judged by the way they present and carry themselves and what they wear, which says a lot about who they are without having to speak.

Do they look clean and presentable? Or do they appear sloppy and unattentive to details?

And in turn, the image of the company is reflected in that person’s first impression. If a company wants to

come across as professional, innovative and reliable, they should probably look into recruiting employees who give off such vibes.

For service-based or client-facing companies, the way an employee – and employer – dresses plays a significant role in setting the corporate image. So a handbook that says the dress code is ‘smart casual’ is too ambiguous because one person’s ‘smart casual’ can be another’s ‘too casual’.

Here’re some tips on how to play safe and look savvy yet stylish at work without having break the bank.

FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC • Stick with basics. Streamline your work wardrobe and go with classic, versatile pieces that can never go wrong. Timeless pieces like that perfect white shirt, cotton pants in a good fit and a dependable pair of black shoes are all fair game.

• It’s all about the fit. Whether it calls for business, smart or just plain casual, getting the fit right is crucial. Ill-fitting clothes emphasize your body’s problem areas, not camouflaging it as is the commonly misconstrued idea.

• Keep your tailor on speed dial. Unless you have the perfect body, chances are the shirt and trousers you bought off the rack need some alterations. Finding a trusty tailor may be an investment so keep a lookout for stores that offer alterations with purchase.

• Mix & match. Think back what you used to wear to work and take it a few notches down to casual. If your office gave the green light on jeans, go for a pair in a dark wash. Pair that with the shirts that you usually wear and complete it with a pair of brown loafers. Work with pieces that you may already have in your existing wardrobe.

• Know your personal style. A failproof way out of a style rut in the morning is having a personal style. Loosely interpreted as a person’s sense of style and manner of dressing, personal style is what makes it easy to dress when you’re in a rush.

THE REAL CASUAL Defined as ‘neat, conventional, yet relatively informal in style, especially as worn to conform to a particular dress code’, smart casual is interpreted differently by individuals and the culture in their workplaces. Many other factors – such as the industry, the average age and size of the company – come into play when considering what ‘smart casual’ actually means.

Mark Zuckerberg made it okay for men to wear grey hoodies to work in Silicon Valley, setting the bar casual for other young and new tech companies.

While there is no dress code for employees of Google, it is not the same for other companies such as Starbucks.

Their baristas are ambassadors of

the brand so the company establishes a specific dress code that recently got an update. Out are the black and white uniform and in with a personalised style. The new dress code gives the employees an avenue to express their personality while still maintaining a neat and professional appearance behind that green apron.

A Wall Street bank that recently broke tradition is J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., allowing their employees to lose the tie, unbutton the collar and adopt a business casual look. And soon, more companies will probably follow suit.

So how do you transition from formal to smart casual? Or perhaps you’re thinking of joining a company with a vague dress code.

MINIMALYST

MINIMALYST helps individuals find and achieve a style that is personal to them and suitable for their body shape, personality and lifestyle. The style coach at MINIMALYST can also revive, refresh and breathe new life into their existing wardrobe.

What’s So Great About Style? Your personal style is the picture that can tell your life story, express who you are and how you want people to see you. As unique as a thumbprint, style is more than just how you look beyond the fashion trends. Style is finding inspiration from around you and your takes on the fashion runways, translating all that to make it your own look. It is about being comfortable with the person that you are, the body that you have and dressing that body to look and feel good. Do you have a personal style? If your answer is no, read on.

Who is MINIMALYST? She is a pragmatic, level-headed style coach who was at where you are right now. She stepped out of her comfort zone to become confident in her own skin, letting her personal style define the person she really is. She is in the business of making people look good and feel confident.

Who Needs a Style Coach?

If you are stuck in that style rut (or know someone who is) and lacking faith in yourself, let her walk with you on this journey of rediscovering your style and confidence that once was you.

Get in touch with her on her Facebook page at www.facebook. com/minimalyst or email her at heyminimalyst@gmail.com. Let’s not be afraid to walk out that front door with a new style that shouts ‘this is the real me, world so deal with it.’

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I PERSPECTIVE I

Training NEED

Analysis and Up-Skilling “Training is the key that unlocks the door to great opportunities.�

H

uman Resource Management consists of activities connected to managing employees. The Human Resource unit in an organisation is in charge of finding, screening, recruiting, training and administering and implementing employee related programs.

There is a need for the Human 52 | UP MAGAZINE

Resource Department in an organisation to closely analyse the work environment to identify the potentials of the staffs and the need for training by using Training Need Analysis (TNA) with regards to job improvement and the acquiring of new skills for wider responsibilities which will be in demand and highly expected by the organisation.

Training, therefore, is pertinent in

ensuring that the organisation is up to date with the current global market, and is competing in the global arena. It is also a way for upskilling the company’s existing workforce, which, at the same time, promotes growth and greater confidence in handling matters that are more complicated and challenging.

While development is vital in improving decision making and human

“Training for employees is value adding for an organisation, in that it also gives specific knowledge and skillsto the employees and a set of required behaviour is attained in the process.”

relation skills of the management, training will allow employees to be better prepared in dealing with a more factual and narrower subject matter.

Training for employees is value adding for an organisation, in that it also gives specific knowledge and skills to the employees and a set of required behaviour is attained in the process.

The purpose is to enable the employees to be skilled and be able to perform their responsibilities with the relevant standards. The wider perspective of development can be seen in that the knowledge will be used immediately and on a frequent basis for the interest of the individual and the continuous development of the organisation.

Realistically, one can only expand one’s horizon by attending training courses to enhance learning and to hone one’s skills. Pragmatically, training and development programs will bring about positive influences on both the individual and the organisation respectively. As a matter of course, the individual employee’s capability will correlate to the skills that will be gained from training and development.

Accordingly, the individual’s income may increase with the acquisition of skills and competence. Training and development will open doors

of opportunities for each and every individual for their career development.

Sometimes, having skill qualification can have a positive impact on a person’s career development. It also opens the doors for promotion within an organisation. When difficult times arise for organisations and they are compelled to downsize their manpower, one of the determining factors on whether a staff is retained or retrenched is his or her training and development experiences and contributions to the organisation.

It is worth noting that most organisations provide training programs for their employees to help them improve their productivity and competence.

Highly skilled employees will also be able to exercise their judgment when making a decision.

Training and development also refines the aptness of the organisation to subsist a change. The change may be in the form of new products, new markets, or even technology upgrade for implementation.

The HR department in any organisation can look out for signs that indicate that its staff need training – work achievement standard is unrealised, spot employees incapable of performing their duties to the best of their ability, unproductive, high rate of absenteeism, low employee morale, and the decrease in sales and profits.

With TNA, performance gap can be bridged through the identification

of the expected performance and the actual performance of an individual.

When a training method is set upon that problem identification, there will be a standard competence among the employees and fulfilment in job.

Information obtained by the Human Resource management can also help organisations narrow down the immediate needs in making use of time, fund, and work shifts of the employees as aptly as possible to avoid wastage of resources and to prevent unnecessary training activity. There is always room for improvement, and you will may not know your full potential until you are trained.

Dr. G.Vizayer Raj is a trainer consultant and director of programmes at the Asian Management Development Academy.

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I PERSPECTIVE I

Art

The

Public Of Speaking

Everyone can learn to speak fluently with significance and passion. Yet I have come across thousands of people who are gripped by the fear of public speaking.

I believe that a person can learn not only to speak well but can be coached until her or she becomes a professional speaker.

BY DR VICTOR S.L. TAN

HOW DOES A PERSON BECOME A SUCCESSFUL PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER?

1

Find A Topic You Are Passionate About

You cannot begin to speak fluently and with enthusiasm if you do not have an interest or passion in the topic that you intend to speak about.

Start exploring areas or issues that you care about. A good speaker does not just speak through his mouth but with all his heart, mind and soul. Great speakers like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and John F. Kennedy, have a great cause or vision they fight for. In fact, the best way to overcome stage fright is to choose a topic you are passionate about that has a compelling message that is dying to get out.

2

Prepare An Interesting Speech

There is a difference between a talker and a speaker. A talker has to say something, a speaker has something to say. In this digital era where people have a wider exposure and experience, a good speaker must be prepared to handle the “seen that, done that” reaction. An interesting speech must address the unarticulated needs of the audience: • Tell me something I have not heard 54 | UP MAGAZINE

• Show me something I have not seen • Share with me something I have not personally experienced Original ideas or a personal story with a powerful message is a good way to captivate your audience. For example, when the speaker and author Susan Cain gave a talk on the Power Of Introverts, it was not only exciting but her speech reflected a new discovery of the influence of people who are not your usual charismatic, outgoing and social animal. For a speech to be interesting, the topic and content have to be current, new, bold or controversial.

3

Practice Delivery With Power

A speech is more than just its contents. The way a speaker delivers his speech has a powerful impact. A speaker

can be trained to deliver with power though voice modulation by varying his volume, speed and pitch. Of course, body gestures, pause, voice projection and the speaker’s style can also determine the effectiveness of a speech.

Most professional speakers are not only good at persuading people but they can also inspire people to take action. The great writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, “Speech is power. Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”

To deliver a powerful speech one has to touch the hearts, change the minds and win the commitment of the audience to take action. To do that the speaker must understand the audience well – their concerns, their needs and what they value most; in essence what makes them tick.

KLSCC’S CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERS Analyse The Audience

Ascertain Purpose of Speech & Topic

Define The Theme of The Message Research Speech Materials

Craft Opening Line S P E E C H O U T L I N E

Identify A Few Key Points

Write Out A Full Speech

Support The Key Points Write Conclusion

Fine Tune & Finalize Speech

Practise Delivery

Besides the attention grabbing opening and good content, the closing is the one that is memorable and impactful. As they say, a speech is like a love affair, any fool can start one, but it requires considerable skill to end it.

at an international level. Practice is the key to success. As the famous Hollywood actor, Will Smith once said, “I’ve always considered myself to be just average talent and what I have is a ridiculously insane obsessiveness for practice and preparation.”

4

5

Seize Every Opportunity To Speak

If one wants to become a good public speaker, one has to seize every opportunity to speak in public. You can start from your own workplace, in your department meeting, and work eventually to the company level and then to national level. In fact, you can be trained to eventually speak professionally

Get Certified As A Professional Speaker

Over the years, our firm, KL Strategic Change Consulting Group, has trained and certified people to speak professionally. KLSCC’s certifying process for professional speakers (refer to diagram) is an all encompassing process involving audience analysis, choosing a topic and defining the key

S U P P O R T M A T E R I A L S

Review and Edit Speech

Stories Sayings Statistics Supporting Evidence Sense Of Humour Sharing Shows/Videos/ Visuals

The 7 S Approach

message, crafting the speech outline, writing the full speech, using support materials through the 7S Approach and practice the speech till one achieves mastery in his or her delivery.

A good professional speaker can command not only a high professional fees but also has the privilege to be flown around the world, stay in 5-star hotels with all related expenses paid for. At the end of the speech or a training session, a professional speaker often gets an applause or standing ovation. It can be an enriching career or profession in every sense of the word – financially, socially, psychologically and intellectually.

Dr Victor SL Tan is the CEO of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. He has personally trained over 500,000 individuals. He has conducted professional speaking certification for many organisations locally and internationally. He was also a Public Speaking Champion and Debating Champion many times over. For feedback on this article, email him at victorsltan@klscc.com or contact him at 012 3903168.

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I INDUSTRY INSIGHT I

Helping Managers MAKE Better Proposals

A

s you’re probably aware, writing proposals is an important part of most middle managers’ jobs.

It therefore makes sense that they undergo a training programme that will equip them with the necessary skills to prepare and present proposals well. One such programme is The Case MakerTM, which is offered by People Potential, a training consultancy with offices in Singapore and Malaysia. This programme is designed for managers in major financial centres around the world such as Wall Street, London and Frankfurt.

We asked Olivia Chua, Regional M a n a g e r, Human Resource Development of MHE-Demag Malaysia, about her experience with running The Case Maker TM in her organisation.

Here’s what she had to say.

In what ways have your organisation used The Case MakerTM? We have taken an initial step by training our middle managers in using The Case MakerTM. It helps that The Case MakerTM programme offers a 3-month support via a coach, and we have put in place a post-workshop initiative where each participant needs to come up with a proposal using the Yellow CircuitTM (a key element of The Case MakerTM). Once finalised, we will get them to present to the Senior Management for approval.

How has The Case MakerTM benefitted your organisation, its teams and its people?

Being able to articulate our thoughts, proposals and initiatives through a practical and structured manner will help boost the confidence of our managers when presenting to higher management and/or to customers.

What feedback do you get about managers who have gone through The Case MakerTM? It is not easy to change someone’s mindset, to learn a different method in presenting their ideas and their thoughts.

But because of its practicality and userfriendly method, there is a remarkable change in the way they are presenting their ideas, whether on paper or in articulation.

Olivia Chua, Regional Manager, Human Resource Development of MHE-Demag Malaysia.

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From L&D’s perspective, why is The Case Maker TM an important programme in your organisation?

As we are an engineering organisation, we are used to presenting facts and figures. However, sometimes it can be overwhelming with technical details, and

we tend to forget that the audiences are not tech-savvy. Hence, The Case MakerTM is a good complementary programme that helps our people to summarise their proposals/presentations into easily digestible formats.

From the business’s perspective, why is The Case MakerTM an important programme?

The first 5 minutes of a presentation is a clear indication of whether the customer (internal or external) will want to listen more, and sometimes they have already made their decision within a short time span. The Case MakerTM programme helps our people to focus their presentations on what’s important (not to lose the audience!) and thereafter, lead the audience to what they have to say. If we can do this more often, we can create a better perception and impact with customers.

What is your recommendation about/ of The Case MakerTM? That all managers should go through this programme. It also helps in email articulation. It may take longer to draft an email, but that time taken helps a lot in controlling emotions and reduces the tendency of writing off the cuff.

How would you improve The Case MakerTM? Probably to use more real case examples, relevant to the organisation, so that the participants can see the actual application in the past.

To find out more about The Case MakerTM, contact Sarah at sarah.khalid@ peoplepotential.com.

Answering the

“So, what?”

WHEN PRESENTING PROPOSALS Some managers or technical experts merely list down facts and figures, leaving their audience with one question: “So, what?”

The Case Maker is designed to help managers and technical experts prepare and present their proposals persuasively.

TM

What participants of The Case MakerTM say : It simplified the approach to the situation and cut down the time to organise an effective message. ~ Ian Laurel Gabuya, MHE-Demag (Philippines) Inc.

Excellent programme for higher level presentations and meetings. ~ Janine Ramsay, PwC

Very structured, informative and, most importantly, very applicable. ~ Sarina Malar, Scope International (Malaysia)

Thought-provoking. Easy to follow steps. Can be applied immediately to my work. ~Haymanth Indran, Mesiniaga

Help your managers provide the answer to “So, what?” and get buy-in for their proposals.

Call or email us now! for your free copy of The CaseMakerTM manual +603-7981 5572

enquiry@peoplepotential.com

www.peoplepotential.com

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I LIFESTYLE I

SUITE ESCAPE

Take a break from the busy city and enjoy a peaceful getaway at Nilai Springs Resort Hotel (NSRH).

W

hile being known for it’s MICE facilities, NSRH also has everything you need for a great weekend getaway, away from the huffs and puffs in the city. Its impressive room selection ranges from an affordable Superior Room to a luxurious Presidential Suite. Our personal favourite is the Putra Suite. Measuring at more than 200 square-metres in size, the Putra Suite features two bedrooms, a living room, a small office, a dining room and a kitchen, making it an ideal option for family holidays. Plus, you get a bathtub that comes with a jacuzzi in your suite.

But if you’re a fan of the outdoors, NSRH’s spacious free-form swimming pool is good for chilling under the sun.

Relax by the pool to get that holiday tan you’ve been wanting while the children splash away in the wading pool. Children below the age of 12 will definitely have a ball at the Children Waterplay Park in NSRH. If you don’t have the luxury of an ensuite jacuzzi, there’s one nearby the pool that is open to all guests of the resort.

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After some down-time at the pool, take your utter zen to Aseana Foot Reflexology and Body Massage for some pampering. The spa provides a sanctuary for your senses with treatments that are ideal to pamper and rejuvenate yourself.

Take a pick from a quick foot reflexology to a longer, more holistic Thai essential body massage – which we’ve tried and highly recommend if you’re at Nilai Springs Golf and Country Club. With a holistic approach to beauty and healing, it serves to cure through the five senses.

Golf enthusiasts will be delighted to know that the greens of the popular golf course were recently renovated with satiri grass, a local breed from Universiti Putra Malaysia. With this grass, purchased from Satiri Sdn Bhd, the character of the greens has been changed from flat to undulating and elevated. The speed of the green is now from 9 feet to 10 feet and above. The density of the grass has also improved and the grass is much healthier now.

For golfers who thrive on challenges, the golf course is not short of exciting offerings as its sand traps, water hazards, island greens and three very special signature holes are sure to test your golfing skills and keep you coming back for more challenges.

If golf is not your cuppa, you can always try out other sports and recreational facilities at the clubhouse. There’s always something for everyone at NSRH and to sweat it out, you can gear up for a game of badminton, squash, tennis or table tennis. There is also a well-equipped gymnasium to exercise your muscles, making sure you keep to your workout regime even when you’re on a holiday.

At NSRH, you’re in for a treat with a holistic holiday that will re-energise you for months to come. So what are you waiting for? Call +606-850 2288 or visit www.nilaisprings.com.my to book your quick getaway!

I LIFESTYLE I

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I GADGET I

LEADING THE PACK Since its global unveiling, the highly anticipated Galaxy S7 and S7 edge have constantly been dubbed as the perfect smartphones – a flawless combination of performance and quality. Apart from its 5.1-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display, the Galaxy S7 packs the same impressive features as its dual edge sibling, the Galaxy S7 edge. Despite the slightly smaller screen size as compared to the Galaxy S7 edge’s 5.5-inch display, Samsung still manages to emote the same feeling of sleekness and sophistication into this version with the same full 3D glass and metal body. The smartphones are available in three colour options – Black Onyx, Gold Platinum and Silver Titanium.

FAST AND FURIOUS

Sony’s ultra fast α6300 is the flagship model in the form of an APS-C mirrorless camera that takes autofocusing (AF) and imaging speed and performance to astonishing new heights. With an incredible 425 focal plane phase-detection AF points densely positioned over the entire image area, this comprehensive AF point coverage ensures that no subject escapes its attention. The high-speed continuous shooting ensures clear coverage of crucial moments. Choose continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking up to 11fps, or up to 8fps with live view featuring minimal display lag on the EVF or LCD screen.

GADGET GUIDE HEAR THE FORCE AC Worldwide has created the highest-quality bluetooth speakers in the shape of two of the most loved Star Wars characters – everybody’s favourite protocol droid, C-3PO and the Galactic Empire’s, the Stormtrooper – using the highest grade plastic for a more tactile feel and solid look. Both speakers come with easy pairing functions and connecting them to your phones is as easy as holding your phone up to the speaker. Upon pairing, each character will utter an iconic phrase “I do believe they think I am some sort of god” or “move along”, while their eyes glow in blue.

PERFORMANCE AT ITS BEST Whilst the HTC 10 nails it on the hardware, HTC focuses on getting the right fundamentals for delivering the best in class software with apps that launch twice as fast and perform to the highest standard. Engineered from the inside out to last longer, the HTC 10 boasts the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with enhanced 4G LTE. Each device also comes with Boost+ which is designed to make your phone faster, to consume less power and to provide effective security and applications management features. This includes smart boost, which automatically optimises your memory, a game battery booster, which uses less battery during gameplay, and a new PowerBotics system, which auto detects and shuts down apps that use excessive power, improving battery life by 30% and delivering up to two days charge.

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THIN AS AIR China’s Xiaomi recently entered the laptop market with the new Mi Notebook Air that runs on Microsoft’s Windows 10. The lightweight laptop comes in two sizes, 12.5 inches and 13.3 inches. The key features of the larger model include Nvidia GeForce 940MX dedicated graphics card, Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB PCIe SSD with expandable SATA SSD slot, 8GB DDR4 RAM and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. It is said to last 9.5 hours on a single charge, charges 50% in 30 minutes and weighs 1.28kg. It features Type-C USB for charging, and two USB 3.0 ports and a single HDMI interface. The devices come in gold and silver colors.

KING OF TABLETS Sometimes you have to break the rules to do great things. That’s why Microsoft reinvented the Surface Pro 4 to fit right into your life. The tablet that is designed to replace your laptop is powered by Windows 10. Surface Pro 4 is thinner than a MacBook and runs all of your desktop software, making it your mobile workstation with the latest generation of Intel® Core™ processors that run multiple programs side by side. Dubbed as the best Windows ever, Windows 10 come with lots of new features you’ll love, like innovations in security, personalisation and productivity. It’s easy to switch from Mac to Surface because it will work well with iTunes, iCloud, and iPhone.

And many of the gestures, shortcuts, and features are similar to what you already know.

WRISTY BUSINESS MADE TO GOLF Approach S20 GPS golf watch is the ideal golfing partner that doubles as your everyday watch. Stylish, convenient and lightweight, it comes preloaded with more than 40,000 courses around the world, plus automatic map updates, daily activity tracking and smart notifications. Whether you’re leisurely playing with friends on your favourite local course or teeing up on an amazing resort course, Approach S20 knows where and how far you are from the next pin. The watch’s high-sensitivity GPS receiver gives you the distance data you need to fire away with confidence. On the high-resolution display, you’ll see distances to the front, back and middle of the green, as well as hazards, doglegs and layups, and measure yardages for shots played from anywhere on the course.

The Razer Nabu Watch brings together the brand’s expertise in design and wearables, to forge a full-featured digital watch with smart functions. Besides putting a unique secondary screen that streams notifications from your smartphone – calls, texts, emails, app alerts, and more – right to your wrist, the Nabu Watch can also be connected to a downloadable companion app to ensure the time is hyper-accurate to the global standard. While most smartwatches have to be recharged after a day’s use, the Nabu Watch stays on your wrist and keeps going forever. A year-long battery life makes it a highly reliable timepiece, while the secondary screen need only be charged once a week.

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I TRAINING VENUES I

THE ST. REGIS KUALA LUMPUR From formal social occasions to intimate business gatherings, every event at The St. Regis Kuala Lumpur is treated with the same meticulous attention to detail and legendary personal service guests have come to expect. With this in mind, their thoughtfully designed meeting areas offer a range of generous layouts and superb amenities ready to accommodate every need. With almost 5,000 square metres of meeting space equipped with the latest in technology including wireless internet access, large or small business or social groups can be graciously accommodated at any given time.

HILTON PETALING JAYA All set to provide space for intimate events and meetings, Hilton Petaling Jaya has 18 venues cater for the occasion. These venues provide a warm and inviting setting for business Guests or a private party. All are naturally lit and can be customized to individual needs and preferences. Each room is furnished with modern A/V equipment and WiFi. Take advantage of the 24-hour business centre or host a cocktail reception in the pre-function area. Choose from a range of catering options, including meetings packages with coffee breaks.

IMPIANA KLCC HOTEL Impiana KLCC Hotel offers meetings and function rooms with utter flexibility and flair in fragrant comfort. It is the perfect venue for a multitude of events including private corporate meetings, seminars and international conferences, as well as to support major events happening just across the road at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the hotel provides the latest range of audio visuals including laptop to LCD projection and teleconferencing facilities, alongside an experienced team of staff who will provide an excellent level of service.

HARD ROCK HOTEL PENANG Hard Rock Hotel Penang offers Rock ‘n’ Roll themed meeting rooms where meetings, conferences and parties for 20 to 260 guests are uniquely fun, dynamic and energised with Hard Rock Hotel’s edgy ‘Rock’ inspired spirit. Apart from sporting hip and new designs, the Hall of Fame offers state-of-the-art audiovisual and lighting equipment. Effective sound-proofing, accessible toilets and direct access for vehicles into the pillar-less ballroom are also available.

Theme buffets, coffee breaks and activities are also featured to give that “Hard Rock” feel.

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HOTEL PULLMAN KUALA LUMPUR BANGSAR Meetings at Pullman is more than an offering, it’s an entire concept.

Co-Meeting by Pullman provides high-level technologies and equipment for flawless service. That’s how great ideas will enable business enthusiasts to stay one step ahead of the game. With 14 meeting rooms – the largest measuring at 1073 square meters with a capacity of 1680 people – Hotel Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar serves business needs with the latest technology in its equipments, as well as dedicated resources including translation, interpretation and secretarial services.

PUTRAJAYA SHANGRI-LA Putrajaya Shangri-La offers intimate yet impressive meeting facilities and innovative banquet arrangements, whether for business or pleasure. Venues at the hotel include three meeting rooms, a park or poolside for an outdoor setting, the Grand Room which can be divided into three separate rooms for more intimate events, Dewan Putra Perdana Grand Room with a pre-function atrium courtyard and the Grand Garden Pavilion, which fits up to 210 people. Mixing business leisure, meetings at Putrajaya Shangri-La can also be taken aboard one of Putrajaya Lake cruise boats.

FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON PUCHONG Ideal for corporate meetings and business seminars, Four Points

by Sheraton Puchong’s meeting rooms provides excellent state-ofthe-art audiovisual equipment, and wireless High Speed Internet Access, completed with catering services that promise a great event. The Putera Meeting Room offers complete business support services and could be divided into three different meeting rooms. A meeting room foyer provides a vast space between both meeting rooms and ballrooms with natural daylight, enabling meeting guests to interact with one another before the meeting begins.

HATTEN HOTEL MELAKA Meetings and events at Hatten Hotel Melaka come in two tiers of sophistication on Level 11 and Level 22. Located opposite the Grand Ballroom on Level 11 are three meeting rooms in various sizes that cater to the needs of smaller groups of between 20 to 100 people, while Level 22 boasts a higher level of distinction with deluxe function rooms that come with an elevated ambience of luxury.

Seating up to 120 people, the four deluxe rooms are guaranteed to distinguish private and corporate events alike. All meeting rooms at Hatten Hotel Melaka are equipped with writing materials, basic PA system, whiteboard, flip-chart and LCD Projector.

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I PERSPECTIVE I

O Avoid Being How to

Overlooked for

Positions

It is not simply about updating your résumé

by Rowena Morais

ver the weekend, I came across an interesting post in an online forum about how to stay relevant and get the jobs you’re after.

The person initiating the discussion was lamenting how she had invested money in getting her résumé professionally looked over. Yet, it didn’t bring about the results she was looking for. She was still getting overlooked for positions.

Others in the forum agreed, some saying they too faced similar situations. And then there were those who were surprised that there were actually people spending money to get their résumé improved upon. While there was not much else to go on in terms of the discussion thread, I got the feeling that perhaps, this was the only thing they were doing to look for new roles.

Recruiters are sifting through thousands of profiles through the week. Relying exclusively on them to meet your priorities simply cannot be your game plan. Who actually reads résumés today? The truth is the résumé, if it is at all read, is the last place they go to and which they rely on.

They are googling you and checking out all your socials instead.

FOCUS ON BUILDING A BRAND FOR YOURSELF

ISN’T THE RÉSUMÉ ALREADY DEAD? Let’s face it, I think the résumé is already largely irrelevant in today’s workplace. As Nicolas Cole pointed out, “Getting someone to even read a résumé in the age of ADD is an achievement”.

Some organisations ask for it, but it’s not really something they are relying on. If they do look at it, it is merely one piece of the puzzle. The puzzle: who are you and why should I care?

Should you bother with a résumé?

Yes, sure, get one done for the organisations that need it. But focus on something bigger. Much bigger.

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What does that involve? It means thinking beyond the transactional and focusing on the long term. It means being able to quickly identify what your priorities are, where you want to focus your efforts, where you want to grow your career, what things you want to learn to further develop.

It means getting certain about these issues and if you’re not already clear about it, spending the time to attain that clarity because you need it to drive your actions moving forward. If you’re not already clear on it, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Acknowledging that you’re uncertain or unclear means you now take the steps to remedy it. When you have that certainty about priorities, goals and passions, you then have direction. That direction helps create focused effort and you will then see the results you’re looking for.

MAKE YOURSELF HEARD

Is it too obvious a fact that in order to avoid being overlooked, you have to ensure that you are noticed?

What does this mean if you are working in HR, for example? It means that you are contributing towards meaningful discussion about business direction. It means you’re spending time figuring out what the pain points in your business are so you can help address them. It means you’re becoming closer to the other line managers and business heads within the organisation, as you seek to figure out what issues they face in their roles and then try to resolve where you can contribute in all of this.

If it is to work, you will step outside the confines of HR and learn the different parts of the business. You will feel unsure, constantly on the edge, understanding every day, how little you actually know.

Yet, you will participate, you will voice your opinion and more importantly, you will ask the right questions of others. How will you know these are the right questions? You will know because others will begin to take notice, respond and give you answers. You will know because they will start responding to your curiosity and share and once you’ve got their ear, you can then create impactful conversations.

FIND WAYS TO BE OUTSTANDING

Do you actually want to be different or do you want to blend in with thousands of others? And if you do want the former, are you willing to do what it takes to make it happen? What are the reasons you want to be outstanding?

Can you live with that?

Being outstanding is not necessarily about razzmatazz or attention-seeking.

It can also be about creating exceptional work or putting in unrelenting effort.

Outstanding can be about being stubbornly persistent and driven.

Outstanding is not just about standing apart but about standing apart for the right reasons. But you’ve got to find the right reasons for you because they differ from person to person.

BUILD ON YOUR STRENGTHS AND PASSION Do you want to focus on how much you don’t know and use that as your crutch for continual inaction? Or do you want to say, “I don’t know but I am willing to go find out. I am willing to build this up.”

Start by building on your strengths.

Assemble a portfolio, a body of work that distinguishes you from others. A body of work that has a distinct feel to it, clarifying what you can do and what you have done.

DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS THAT MOVE BEYOND THE TRANSACTIONAL

If you are only about what’s in it for you, I am sorry to break it to you but it will come across in time. It always does. If you develop relationships across a wide arc and these are strong relationships that can stand the test of time, then you have the ability to call on them, when you need to. Sometimes, these may work for you, sometimes they may not.

You’re tempted to ask, why bother when there’s no certainty.

Well, I say that you need to take a holistic view of things. If you’re looking to move ahead, try new jobs or get a promotion, it’s often more about the relationships you have in place than about your work.

Therefore, you want to ensure you do everything in your power to support this.

Developing relationships that matter, however, takes time.

Ultimately, it’s a question of prioritisation in our busy lives today.

More than anything, it is a question of authenticity that impacts the strength of these relationships.

UP MAGAZINE | 65

I PERSPECTIVE I

EXPLORE THE UNCHARTED AND GO HUNTING IN DIFFERENT PLACES What does it take to be overlooked?

In a sea of blandness, it is about being different.

The first step is about being true to you and what you’re about. When that happens, you are in essence, removing all the peripheral matter that appears to be of substance but is not. You allow your light to shine, and shine bright it will.

This is not about doing different things but about doing things differently because you are putting your spin on it. It’s about curiosity as much as it is about courage and desire.

CREATE YOUR OWN PLATFORM Those who get noticed in the right way today (and the right way is the way in which they seek to be taken notice of) are those who create their own platforms.

They do not want to be subject to the whims and agenda of another. Third party platforms are too fickle and do not provide the leverage needed for the sustained effort of these few.

So, if you are keen on avoiding being overlooked, do not rely on the platforms of others but carve out one yourself. The good news is that it does not take much to get started. The technology has been simplified and the barriers to entry are lower than ever before.

Frequently, the barriers to starting are actually more within yourself.

DO GOOD WORK FOR FREE

This is one of the best ways you can begin to get noticed. Most people are not interested in giving freely of themselves. It takes too much effort and they question the need to do things of value for no reward.

If you need to be given the opportunity on the basis of trust and only then to prove your worth, you will lose out to those who seek first to create impact. Those who do good work for free, are not always doing it for free. They may also be doing it to showcase their value and expertise because different work highlights different skillsets. Choosing the work allows you the freedom to spread your wings and showcase the things you are powerful at. They may be doing it to strengthen their personal brand. Free is merely one tiny aspect of their big picture.

The question about avoiding being overlooked is one of passivity. It’s as if you’re outside the game, looking in and waiting for someone to take notice and call you.

Your question should not be about how to avoid being overlooked but rather, how you could stand out.

You’re not outside, you’re in the game. You’re not waiting for someone to notice, you’re calling attention to yourself. You’re not reacting, you’re proactive, passionate and energetic.

66 | UP MAGAZINE

Rowena Morais helps up-and-coming, ambitious leaders to write, get published and strengthen their personal brand.

An entrepreneur and writer, she is the Editor and Publisher at Vertical Distinct, a media and learning organisation that supports Human Resource and Technology professionals through exclusively produced thought leadership articles, interviews and podcasts and a range of internationally accredited in-demand technical and professional courses offered across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Google | rowenamorais.com| Vertical Distinct

I BOOK REVIEW I

HOW TO PRODUCE, INTRODUCE AND ENFORCE AN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK IN YOUR COMPANY Author: R. P. Baskaran Publisher: Digest Review ISSN: 9789839153262 Every company must have an employee handbook - even if you have just one employee.

An employee handbook contains advice, information and instructions, in a written form, for employees. This book guides the reader on how to produce an employee handbook for their company; how to introduce it in their company, and how to enforce it. The book will guide the reader on: How to Plan the Layout for the Handbook, How to Organise and Manage the Writing and, How to Introduce and Enforce the Handbook.

100+ MANAGEMENT MODELS Author: Fons Trompenaars Publisher: MPH Bookstores ISSN: 9789674152673 The one-stop resource to 100+ powerful management methods. 100+ Management Models offers a quick overview of the key features and potential applications of each of the most important models in nine different categories: sustainability, innovation, strategy, diversity, customers, human resources, benchmarking, leadership, and implementation. Each section concludes with a summary of the key dilemmas that tend to emerge from the particular function, along with analysis of potential solutions.

GAME OF THRONES ON BUSINESS Author: Tim Phillips Publisher: MPH Bookstores ISSN: 9789674152932 Game of Thrones is a global phenomenon that has attracted record viewing figures for HBO and won a huge international fan base as well as collecting numerous awards and nominations. But surely a fantasy involving dragons, ice monsters and heads on spikes is about as far from the world of business as it’s possible to get, isn’t it? In Game of Thrones on Business, Tim Phillips and Rebecca Clare present readers with a fascinating and entertaining take on the hidden leadership and management lessons the drama contains.

The authors take particular storylines and demonstrate how we can learn from the successes achieved and (more often) mistakes made by the characters involved. Drawing parallels with modern business examples, the authors illustrate that far from merely being the most entertaining programme on TV, Game of Thrones is a business tool par excellence for everyone from management trainee to CEO, in organisations from SMEs to global corporations.

SUN TZU’S THE ART OF WAR Author: Karen McCreadie Publisher: MPH Bookstores ISSN: 9789674150808 Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has provided strategists with essential advice on battlefield tactics and management strategies for more than two thousand years. In recent years The Art of War has become a cult book for business leaders and is regarded as essential reading for global entrepreneurs seeking to master strategy. The book has also, unsurprisingly, had a huge influence on military planning both in the East and West.

Assuming you don’t necessarily have any countries to invade or plan to lay siege to any kingdoms in the foreseeable future, author Karen McCreadie interprets Sun Tzu’s strategies for the debatably less dangerous pursuit of business. This brilliant interpretation of Sun Tzu’s work is not a substitute for the original. Its purpose is simply to illustrate the timeless nature of Master Sun’s extraordinary insights by bringing them to life through modern business case-studies.

The fantastic format of McCreadie ‘s work helps to transform the undeniable wisdom contained in the original The Art of War into an entertaining accompaniment to one of the greatest books ever written.

DRIVEN TO DELIGHT Author: Joseph A Michelli Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education ISSN: 9789814660594 Why are Mercedes-Benz customers so loyal and passionate? Because the people at Mercedes-Benz are Driven to Delight.

In his previous bestsellers – The Starbucks Experience, The New Gold Standard, and Prescription for Excellence –Joseph Michelli revealed customer experience practices and strategies of beloved businesses. Now, in this timely new book, he shares the greatest customer-driven insights behind one of the most iconic brand names in the world: Mercedes-Benz.

SO YOU WANT TO GET PROMOTED THE 5 KEYS TO GET YOU THERE Author: Shankar R Santhiram Publisher: EQTD Consulting ISSN: 9789671425206 Shankar R. Santhiram has spent over 20 years as an employee, employer, business owner, trainer, management consultant and executive leadership coach. He has distilled getting promoted down to 5 practical keys that can be easily grasped. Shankar has helped hundreds of executives grow and get promoted. Now, it is your turn.

UP MAGAZINE | 67

I QUOTES I

Words of Wisdom Smart quotes to live by when hiring and managing your company.

“

“RECENTLY, I WAS ASKED IF I WAS GOING TO FIRE AN EMPLOYEE WHO MADE A MISTAKE THAT COST THE COMPANY $600,000. NO, I REPLIED, I JUST SPENT $600,000 TRAINING HIM. WHY WOULD I WANT SOMEBODY TO HIRE HIS EXPERIENCE?” – THOMAS JOHN WATSON SR., IBM

“You can have the best strategy and the best building in the world, but if you don’t have the hearts and minds of the people who work with you, none of it comes to life.”

– RENEE WEST, LUXOR AND EXCALIBUR HOTEL

“I believe in the adage: Hire people smarter than you and get out of their way.”

– HOWARD SCHULTZE, CEO OF STARBUCKS

68 | UP MAGAZINE

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”

– THOMAS JEFFERSON

“

GREAT VISION WITHOUT GREAT PEOPLE IS IRRELEVANT.” – JIM COLLINS, GOOD TO GREAT

“MANAGEMENT IS NOTHING MORE THAN MOTIVATING OTHER PEOPLE.” – LEE IACOCCA, FORD

“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.”

– LAWRENCE BOSSIDY, GE

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