OVER TO YOU: Hartigan (left) exchanging the MoUs with Abdul Aziz, witnessed by Taib (centre).
KUCHING: Two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at addressing unemployment issue among fresh graduates and countering mismatch of skills and market requirement were signed here yesterday.
One was between Sarawak Skills Development Centre (PPKS) and TAFE Central Institute of Technology Australia and the other was between PPKS and TAFE New South Wales.
Through the signing of these MoUs, PPKS is set to become Australian TAFE centre in Sarawak. PPKS will facilitate the exchange and cooperation of staff and students via scholarships and study tours.
These agreements also establish a framework for future cooperation between the three parties to build and enhance knowledge and skills for Malaysia and Sarawak in particular.
Signing on behalf of PPKS was its chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr Abdul Aziz Husain witnessed by executive director Baharudin Abdullah.
Signing on behalf of TAFE Central was Prof Dato Lance Twomey, chair of Governing Council, witnessed by Jamie Mackaway while signing on behalf of TAFE New South Wales was its director Susan Hartigan witnessed by Anne Goonetilleke.
The ceremony was witnessed by Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
“There are a number of factors that cause unemployment but many believe that the fundamental issue lies on the mismatch between market requirements and the skills obtained by graduates from institutions of higher learning.
“It is necessary to raise the skills of Malaysians to increase their chance of employability, by focusing on mainstreaming and broadening access to quality of technical vocational education and training,” said Abdul Aziz in his speech.
He also said that for Malaysia to achieve high income nation status, it is important to enhance the competencies of tertiary graduates to prepare them for the labour market.
“We (PPKS) will provide the private and public sectors in East Malaysia access to international standard education thus enabling individuals and businesses to acquire new knowledge and become a skill-based society in the global economy,” Abdul Aziz said.
More importantly, he noted that the centre would also enable students who have studied in PPKS to obtain TAFE certificates and diploma at various levels which are recognised internationally and to enable them to pursue higher education at associate degree and degree levels in Australian universities.
“We will also be able to introduce new programmes with the collaboration of TAFE Australia including shipbuilding and repairing, tourism, hospitality and culinary sciences, renewable energy and other relevant courses especially related to supporting existing and new industries in the SCORE area,” Abdul Aziz said.
According to Abdul Aziz, the smart partnership with TAFE Australia would prove its worth in an increasingly challenging and complex environment which ultimately would bring together resources and expertise to enhance the knowledge of the society.
The MoU signing ceremony was the highlight of the ‘2011 National Technical Human Resource Development’ conference at Four Points by Sheraton.
Carrying the theme ‘‘HRD through Technical Vocational Education and Training: Skilling the Nation’s Future’, the conference aims at imparting the latest trend on current issues in the perspective of human resource development.
The two-day conference, which will hear 10 papers presented by notable key speakers from Malaysia and Australia, was officially declared open by the Chief Minister.
Also present at the opening ceremony were Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing, Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communication Dato Sri Michael Manyin, Minister of Welfare, Women and Family Development Datuk Fatimah Abdullah and State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani.