‘Make youths take up technical jobs’
by Zoee Hillson. Posted on October 26, 2011, Wednesday
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Taib (second left), his wife Ragad (second right), Teo (left) and Dr Chan cutting Sains’ 20th anniversary cake during the dinner at BCCK. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yesterday expressed concern that the state would not be able to recruit enough skilled technical workers for Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).
To meet the need, he suggested that more social responsibility (CSR) programmes be carried out to promote careers in the technical field among youths especially in rural areas.
He thus urged Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains) to come up with a CSR programme that would attract rural youths to take up technical education.
“I would like Sains to engage more in the development of SCORE by helping the government increase its ability to produce more technical workers.
“I thought that maybe Sains could design a programme that can reach out to youths especially in the rural areas,” he said during Sains 20th anniversary dinner at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on Monday.
The programme, according to Taib, would go a long way in breaking down the mental barrier among rural youths regarding technical education.
“They think it’s a difficult exercise and they can’t see the positives in taking up technical education,” he explained, adding that motivation was very vital in the formative years of young people by exposing them to the vast potential in the technical field.
Towards this end, he suggested that Sains model the programme along its successful RIGHT (Rural ICT Guide Home-based Technopreneur) programme, which trained rural youths to be ICT anchors and home-based technopreneurs in their respective communities.
“I would like to see what Sains can present to me to excite youths of Sarawak to get them to come forward and be interested in technical work,” he said.
Meanwhile, Taib expressed his pride in Sains’ achievements for the past 20 years.
“Starting from a humble beginning, almost informal in style, it is now an organisation with more than 400 staff, having more than 200 solutions.
“This is the testimony of the hard work of people in Sains,” he said proudly.
During the event, the chief minister also launched the ‘Sekolah Kamek Initiative’ — a collaboration with Ministry of Education where Sains provides resources and technical assistance to local schools to allow them to effectively manage their presence on the internet.
Also present were Taib’s wife Puan Sri Ragad Kurdi Taib, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing, Sains CEO Datuk Teo Tien Hiong, Sains chairman Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan and state secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani.
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