MIRI: Cahaya Educational & Training Academy (Ceta) reached a milestone in its history with 98 graduates of drafting and pipe fitting courses receiving their scrolls in the first ever Ceta convocation yesterday.
Len Talif (third left) awarding a scroll to one of the graduates for completing his course on technical drafting, witnessed by Sazali (second left) and others.
Assistant Minister of Environment cum Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Technical Education Promotion) Datuk Len Talif Salleh said it was a great achievement for the institution since it was first incorporated in 2011.
“All of the graduates today will be the first batch of ambassadors for Ceta to the outside world and will reflect the competency of the institution to be on par with other graduates in the job market,” he said at the convocation held at Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club yesterday afternoon.
Moreover, he said in the state, the state government paid much attention to the oil and gas sector in line with its rapid industrial expansion to ensure the involvement of more Sarawakians in the oil and gas industry.
“Together with the establishment of Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Sarawak (Tegas) in the state, it is hoped to maximise the development of human capital (related to this area) to cater to the need for more skilled labour,” Len Talif added.
He said the setting up of Ceta is also targeted at developing more skilled technical personnel.
“Sarawak will become one of the richest states in Malaysia by 2030 with the state going in the right track of having the goal of her Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ranked the third place in Malaysia.
“In the year 2030, the state will have 3.8 million in population with 1.3 million new job opportunities in various sectors,” he pointed out.
“SCORE will take up some 650,000 of the new job opportunities with 70,000 jobs to be on engineering-based qualification,” he added.
At the same time, Len Talif hoped for Ceta to be able to continue in producing high quality graduates who will not be highly competitive.
“To produce highly marketable graduates, a technical-based institution should collaborate closely with related industry that demand for skilled labour force,” he said.
The close cooperation and good relationship between the vocational institution and related industry partners will create a conducive learning environment for the students and thus enabling them to be able to cope effectively in the real job market in the future.
Among those present at the inaugural graduation ceremony was Ceta executive chairman Sazali Abdul Rahman.
Ceta is a fully-owned Bumiputera company, an institution of further learning set up to impart skills and knowledge which is inclined to the petroleum industry especially for Sarawakians.