MORE COMPANIES NEED TO OFFER "SHOP-FLOOR TRAINING" FOR FRESH GRADUATES, SAYS PM NAJIB

KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 (Bernama) -- Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said
he would like to see more companies in the country offer apprenticeship
programmes that can provide "shop-floor training" for fresh graduates as well as
employees.

He said there must be a conscientious effort within the business community
to upscale all aspects of operations and management, including the development
of a value-added workforce.

"By doing so, as a nation, we will be able to generate higher-quality output
using higher-skilled local human resources, in line with our goal to become a
high-income nation," he said in his 1Malaysia blog.

Najib pointed out that he was proud of the country's workforce but, as he
cautioned when introducing the New Economic Model, having one largely equipped
with a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate alone was not in line with
Malaysia's aspirations to become a high-income economy.

"The solution, as I see it, must be a reskilled labour force, so that all
Malaysians (and not just school leavers) are armed with the right knowledge to
meet employers' needs. This can be achieved through providing on-the-job
training and offering continuing education programmes," he said.

The prime minister stressed that education must not end at school or
university, therefore, but persist throughout one's working life.

"... and I would strongly encourage all my working-age readers to take up
opportunities for ongoing self-development. As a rule of thumb, I would like to
urge those who were unfortunate not to make the cut into colleges/universities
or the equivalent, to continue seeking knowledge.

"I strongly encourage all Malaysians to find ways to enroll themselves into
more practical education channels such as vocational schools and polytechnics.
Let us not limit our education at only SPM certificate level," he said.

Commenting on the current poll conducted on his blogsite, Najib said he had
invited the readers to name their academic qualification achieved when entering
the workforce, SPM or lower, diploma, undergraduate degree and postgraduate
degree.

He said early results suggested that most respondents possess SPM or lower,
with those holding an undergraduate degree emerging in second place.

Najib said that although this sample was not completely representative of
the population, it was somewhat mirrored by the Statistics Department findings,
showing that 77 per cent of the Malaysian working population or 60 per cent of
the entire nation entered the workforce with up to SPM qualification or
equivalent in 2007.

"This is a considerable statistic that suggests a great opportunity to me,
an opportunity to motivate and develop our workers further to spur the growth
that we need," he said.
-- BERNAMA


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