Dorge (left) leading his team to brief Fatimah on the BPIEF during a courtesy call at her office.
KUCHING: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers are encouraged to pursue career paths in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
With the demand for STEM occupations growing in the state, STEM is their future in the technological age in which they live, their best career options and their key to wise decisions, said Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah.
She advised school leavers to be realistic in their choice of pathways after SPM and take up courses that have job market demands considering that STEM related jobs can be rewarding careers for them.
“It is vital for students to look at careers that are in demand in the market so that they will know what courses to take to help them in their employment later on,” Fatimah told reporters after receiving a courtesy call from ‘Borneo Post International Education Fair (BPIEF)’ led by its chairman Dorge Rajah at her office in Masja Building yesterday.
Requirement for hard-to-fill jobs vary, Fatimah said, citing the teaching field which is short of staff specialised in specific subjects as an example of how hard it is to get those qualified to be religious teachers, vocational and technical teachers.
“Same thing goes to engineering and doctoral fields which face shortage of specialists in certain areas,” she added.
According to her, the state government also encouraged graduates to generate income through entrepreneurship.
“A lot of universities now encourage entrepreneur activities for their undergraduates with the hope that they would be enticed to venture into businesses to elevate their level of income once they graduate. Through entrepreneurship, graduates would have alternative thus will not depend on applying for government jobs,” she pointed out.
On the eighth edition of the annual BPIEF this March, Fatimah said it is a golden opportunity for school leavers to get information on educational and career pathways.
“The fair is timely as the SPM examination results will be released in March, of which the date for the results will be made known very soon. The objective of the fair remains the same, it aims to offer opportunity for visitors to learn more about education, financial assistance options, training and even careers, so it is not to be missed,” she said.
The BPIEF will be taking place at Level 2 C Atrium at VivaCity Megamall Event Hall from 10am to 7pm daily from March 11 to 12. The launching ceremony will be held at 2.30pm on March 11.
The fair features 50 exhibitors and to date 75 booths have been taken. The organising committee hopes for at least 8,000 visitors.
“Plenty of activities have been lined up for the two-day event so we really encourage students, parents and all families to come,” said Dorge.
Sponsors for the fair are KTS Trading Sdn Bhd, AirAsia Berhad, Malaysia Airline Berhad, Rock N’ Roll Karaoke, VivaCity Megamall and Nancy Mongin (CMM).