Idris (centre) looking at the MoA document during the signing of the memorandum between Darwis (fourth right), Bai (fourth left) and Daing Mohd Nasir (third right). Also seen is Higher Education chief Datin Paduka Ir Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir (third left). — Bernama photo
PUTRAJAYA: The government is in talks with local universities to streamline rail engineering courses to meet the country’s demand for professional locomotive engineers in the railway industry.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said currently, three universities, namely Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) were offering such courses and electives related to rail technology due to the rapid growth in the construction of railway infrastructure in Malaysia.
“Therefore, at the ministry, we are looking into possibilities to extend the rail engineering courses to other universities. We are also looking into establishing a special rail engineering unit.
“In the 2018 Budget, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had mentioned the government’s plan to create the National Rail Centre of Excellence in a bid to support skilled workers in the rail industry.
“We (the ministry) will make sure that (rail engineering courses) will be streamlined accordingly,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of a tripartite memorandum of agreement (MoA) between Malaysia Rail Link Sdn Bhd (MRL), China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), here, yesterday.
MRL was represented by its chief executive officer Darwis Abdul Razak, while CCCC executive managing director
Bai Yinzhan and UMP vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Daing Mohd Nasir Ibrahim signed on behalf of the company and university respectively.
On the agreement, he said the East Coast Rail Link Industrial Skills Training Programme (PLKI-ECRL) hoped to train 3,600 student trainees on board to equip them with the knowledge, skills and experience to be directly involved in the construction of the 688km East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) network project by 2022.
“The PKLI-ECRL programme will arm locals with the necessary skills to work on rail projects, particularly in the area of design construction of railway and is also in line with the formation of the National Rail Centre of Excellence that will oversee and coordinate the quality assurance and accreditation of national rail education,” he said.
The first intake of 50 trainees under the programme comprising 21 diploma and 29 degree holders are on a three-month training at UMP since Sept 25, and an additional 300 PKLI-ECRL
trainees are expected to be enrolled for the second intake, scheduled for this December.
The syllabus were formulated by two prominent Chinese universities, namely Beijing Jiatong University and Southwest Jiatong University, which also serve as railway technology training partners with the state-owned CCCC.
Meanwhile, Darwis said the PLKI-ECRL programme was the brainchild of Najib to equip Malaysians with the knowledge and experience in the rail industry via formal classes and on-the-job training, in view of the implementation of the ECRL and major rail projects in the pipeline.
“We plan to train 1,000 trainees particularly from the East Coast states by the second quarter of 2018 and the first batch of 50 trainees is expected to be hired by the relevant parties in the first quarter of next year,” he added.
Darwis said MRL together with the stakeholders of the PKLI-ECRL programme were actively recruiting candidates with a degree or diploma in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, adding that holders of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) were also eligible to enrol for the training.
“MRL will embark on a roadshow to recruit certificate holders in Kelantan and Terengganu by opening talent booths at the Institut Kemahiran Tinggi Belia Negara, Bachok on Nov 8-9 and at Taman Tamadun Islam, Kuala Terengganu on Nov 14-15 respectively,” he said. — Bernama