Cake-cutting ceremony to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Sunway’s partnership with GOLD for the Sunway Job Training Programme. The cake-cutting ceremony includes YB Dato’ P. Kamalanathan, Deputy Minister for Education I (3rd from right), Tan Sri Razman M. Hashim, Deputy Chairman of Sunway Group (2nd from right), En. Mohd Ghazali Mohd Isa, Chairman of GOLD (right), and Pn. Juairiah Johari, Senior Assistant of Special Class, SMK Bandar Sunway, and Founder of GOLD (3rd from left).
Deputy Minister of Education I, YB Dato’ P. Kamalanathan presented 17 students with learning disabilities their Certificates of Achievement, from a six-month job skills training programme organised by the Sunway Group in collaboration with SMK Bandar Sunway and Generating Opportunities for the Learning Disabled (GOLD).
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Sunway Job Training Programme which integrates the diverse job skills available within the Sunway Group in the township of Sunway City. This unique set-up results in a curriculum that is industry relevant in both theoretical and practical content for students from SMK Bandar Sunway with learning difficulties.
In conjunction with the 10th anniversary, a special exhibition to showcase arts and crafts by the students and interactive demonstrations will also be hosted in the East Wing of Sunway Putra Mall, from 10 to 13 November 2016, to introduce the students’ unique skills to members of the public. All items are for sale and all proceeds will go towards advancing the work of GOLD.
The Sunway Job Training Programme equips the students with valuable pre-vocational and life skills. The ultimate goal of the programme is to ensure that graduates develop confidence and independence to become contributing members of society. Since it was established in 2006, the programme has graduated 120 students from all walks of life.
Under the programme, the students continue with special learning classes at SMK Bandar Sunway, with the opportunity to undergo apprenticeships during the training period. After selecting their apprenticeship, the students attend pre-vocational classes three times a week.
The graduating class of the Sunway Job Training Programme 2016
During this time, students work in areas such as baking and pastry, office and general housekeeping, food and beverage, and ticketing, in the Sunway Group’s business units including Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway Pyramid, Sunway University, Sunway Lagoon and Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa.
YB Dato’ P. Kamalanathan commended Sunway, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, and Sunway University, for being a long-term supporter of our youth with different abilities. Since 2012, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation (JCF) has pledged RM 100,000 to help fund and develop an ongoing social enterprise model for the students of GOLD. This is in line with the JCF’s guiding principle of giving to society in a sustainable manner. The collaboration saw Sunway University Institute for Social Enterprise (SISE) work closely with GOLD to create development programmes and business plans that will equip special needs youth with skills for life.
“These efforts are in line with the Ministry of Education’s efforts to create equal opportunities for children with different learning abilities and complements the government’s initiatives towards further integrating inclusive education into the Malaysian education system.”
Sunway Group’s Deputy Chairman, Tan Sri Razman M. Hashim said, “We aim to enable the students to learn in the real-world setting, and hopefully the experiences they undergo are life changing. We have worked closely together for the last 10 years, and in guiding them, we have also been taught by them about curiosity and creativity, as these young people solve problems in ways we never imagined. With such learnings, we hope to be able to continue the work we do together and contribute more to these students.”
Learning Disabilities (LD) or Intellectual Disabilities refer to a number of disorders, which may affect the acquisition, organisation, retention, understanding, or use of verbal or nonverbal information. Examples of Learning or Intellectual Disabilities include Down Syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia and Minimal Brain Injury Dysfunction / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
GOLD provides the necessary platform for the LD students from the Special Class in SMK Bandar Sunway to enhance their abilities and enable them to contribute to, and participate in society and ultimately, lead self-sustaining lives through its Economic Empowerment Programmes (EEP) carried out at the 3C MPSJ building.
Sunway Group has been a stalwart supporter of SMK Bandar Sunway, the Special Class at SMK Bandar Sunway and GOLD as part of its corporate social responsibility initiative. The conglomerate has helped to build, and upgrade the school’s buildings, fund weekly bowling events for students of GOLD, provide job training programmes, and develop GOLD’s social entrepreneurship with support from the JCF by helping the NGO create a viable business model.
En. Mohd Ghazali Mohd Isa, Chairman of GOLD (right) explaining the glass painting process to YB Dato’ P. Kamalanathan, Deputy Minister for Education I (left)
