Sarawak Metro’s apprentices departing for their attachment at CRRC MRT Holding Group Co Ltd, in August last year.
KUCHING (Aug 12): Sarawak’s future modern public transport industry is set to bring in novel concepts and innovations, especially technologies such as the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) vehicles and the use of green hydrogen to power the new public transport fleet.
As such, it is more crucial than ever to groom young local talents to ensure the availability of a pool of competent workers for this new industry, said a press release yesterday.
One of the approaches that Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Metro) has taken to address this issue has been to introduce its Young Talent Programme (YTP), which is a sub-programme of its Socio-Economic Enhancement Development (SEED) Programme under the Operational Maintenance Readiness Programme Initiative.
“We are very proud of our SEED programme because I believe it is a new concept that will add value to our project, not only in Kuching but throughout Sarawak,” said Sarawak Metro chief executive officer Mazli Mustaffa, who introduced the idea for the programme in 2019.
“We are committed to see this initiative through especially when we know that the Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) project is a game changer in improving the socio-economic landscape of Sarawak, in line with its plan towards becoming an advanced economy by 2030,” said Mazli, who makes it a point to personally monitor the development of the YTP apprentices.
With the main objective of adding value to the KUTS project, the SEED programme is specially tailored for the needs of the industry in Sarawak.
The programme was inspired by the Industrial Collaboration Programme, which is implemented in most federal-funded mega projects, especially in Peninsular Malaysia.
For Sarawak Metro’s SEED programme, one of the main components of the YTP is the series of industrial attachments with the KUTS project contractors, either locally or overseas.
Moreover, one of the major benefits of the industrial attachment is the potential for knowledge transfer made possible through on-the-job training experienced by the apprentices.
The first recruitment for the YTP was in 2021, starting with 12 apprentices. Sarawak Metro’s aspiration is to have 60 apprentices successfully completing the programme by 2026.
Upon completion of their 24-month apprenticeship, those who make the cut are offered full time positions at Sarawak Metro.
As of May this year, a total of 13 apprentices have gone on to become full time staff of Sarawak Metro, while another 27 are still undergoing their apprenticeship.
During their apprenticeship, they are assigned to various departments under mentors with vast experience in the railway and public transport industries.
As mentioned, the apprentices are also given the opportunity to undergo industrial attachments with Sarawak Metro’s technology partners in the development of the KUTS project.
The industrial attachments carried out so far have been held either in Malaysia or China, and all the apprentices involved felt that the experience has enhanced their insights and industry knowledge, and they also believe that the experience will help them grow further in their career.
“Before joining this industrial attachment, my understanding of the hydrogen vehicle (H2V) preliminary design stage was limited to only a few sub-systems, but the comprehensive training at CRRC has allowed me to explore all of the sub-components in depth,” shared Sara Athynna Mohd Kamal Basheer, who is now a systems engineer (hydrogen power and SCADA), in the KUTS project team.
Sara had the opportunity to attend a two-month industrial attachment with CRRC MRT Holding Group Co Ltd, together with YTP apprentices Addery Ingka Andok, Nabil Norman and Muhammad Razi Yunus.
“I learned not only the theoretical aspects but also the practical maintenance skills such as starting and shutting down the ART, changing the dryer for propulsion and inspecting passenger doors. It’s one thing to study systems in theory and another to handle them hands-on,” she added.
“It gave me a clearer picture of the entire system since I had just joined the company four months before being sent for the attachment. In terms of skills, I learned quite a number of maintenance procedures, even though their ART vehicle is slightly different from ours,” shared Nabil Norman, an apprentice assigned to the Operations and Maintenance department.
Apart from Sara, Nabil, Addery and Muhammad Razi, another batch of young talents, Muhammad Azri Abdul Wahab, Syammil Mohd Ishak, Qhalief Sapawi, Nur Nafisa Abdullah and Farid Hamizan also benefitted greatly during their industrial attachment at Fangda InnoTech Co Ltd in Shenzhen, China.
“Fangda is a huge company, and the automatic platform gate (APG) they produce is just one of the many components they are involved in,” said Muhammad Azri, an engineer with the department of System Assurance and Requirements.
“The most significant takeaway from this attachment is the importance of communication among everyone involved in the APG project because effective communication is crucial in developing the project to prevent any delays, ensuring the best possible outcome.
“This experience has equipped me with invaluable skills and knowledge, setting me up to give my best to elevate the KUTS project to a premier status in public transportation,” enthused Muhammad Azri.
In terms of the challenges faced during their industrial attachment, the barrier in communication was a common issue for all of them.
According to Qhalief Bin Sapawi, a Systems Assurance and Requirements engineer, although he managed to learn basic Mandarin, it was still a struggle and at times technology was one of the best solutions to overcome the language barrier.
“We used translator apps to facilitate our discussions, and with persistence we managed to understand each other,” he said.
Similarly, Nabil also found language to be a barrier during his attachment, and despite having some basic knowledge of Mandarin, the technical terminology was a challenge for him.
For Syammil Mohd Ishak, a mechanical engineer, who is an apprentice assigned to the Signalling and Automatic Platform Gate (APG) team, the industrial attachment also exposed him to a very different work culture.
He was impressed with the hosts’ dedication and commitment towards their work and this view was also shared by Nur Nafisa Abdullah, an apprentice assigned to the Signalling, Train Control and APG team.
“We tried to tag along and adjust to their work tempo. It was challenging, but the great hospitality shown by our hosts made it much easier,” said Nur Nafisa, who admitted she was also more competent in using chopsticks after her month-long stint in Shenzhen.
Muhammad Afio Rudi, a senior apprentice in the Systems department, recently completed his industrial attachment with Tangshan Baichuan Intelligent Machine Co Ltd in China.
“The attachment exposed me to a wide range of equipment found in a typical railway depot, from the pre-design stage to the final product awaiting delivery,” Afio shared.
“Gaining knowledge on various design types and project exposure is important for becoming a knowledgeable professional in the industry. As someone who is still considered ‘crawling’ into the industry, this attachment provided me with new experiences and perspectives. I am honoured to have been chosen by Sarawak Metro for this opportunity.”
Mazli reiterated that Sarawak Metro would continue to send its young engineers for industrial attachments in collaboration with its suppliers, towards developing the human capital for KUTS.
Sarawak Metro acknowledged the support given by the contractor for Systems Package 1 of the KUTS project – EPR Mobilus Global Rail JV Sdn Bhd (EMG JV) – for coordinating the industrial attachment with its partners and suppliers.