Sunway signs MoU with Ministry of Youth and Sports

More Skilled Youth for Malaysia

Sunway signs MoU with Ministry of Youth and Sports

Sunway Berhad has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to strengthen its commitment in supporting the nation’s agenda to accelerate human capital development. This socio economic Public-Private Partnership is in line with the Institut Kemahiran Belia Negara (IKBN) Transformation programme to increase the employability of its students. Following the MoU, 90 students from IKBN are expected to join Sunway Group.

Public-private partnership is one of the most effective tools to strengthen both parties in paving more opportunities for the Malaysian people. YB Mr. Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Youth and Sports said, “One of the drivers of change in the 11th Malaysia Plan is the industry-led Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET). It also shows that the Malaysian government gave special emphasis on the TVET Sector, which is driven by the market and knows intimately the job market skills if not the industry itself”.

Sunway Group Founder and Chairman Tan Sri Dr. Jeffrey Cheah who signed the memorandum on behalf of Sunway said that the Group has always been a strong proponent of progressing youth.

“We believe that youth are the foundation for nation-building. We currently have about 50% of our 13,000 employees in the Generation Y category. The Sunway Education Group has produced some 50,000 future leaders from all educational institutions to date. Some of them are already leaders in their own right. And as of 2015, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation has disbursed more than RM200 million in scholarships to over 23,000 deserving students.”

“As part of our continuous effort to provide opportunities to young and deserving students, today’s signing will further underscore our commitment to building and progressing our youth for our better collective future.” he added.

The MoU will accomplish three objectives. The first is to provide a lifelong platform for the IKBN students and strengthen their application capabilities, thus, increasing employability. Second, to create long-term sourcing of technically skilled students for Sunway. And thirdly, to develop and enhance learning for the students through close consultation with the IKBN faculty and with Sunway’s technical experts and leaders.

The collaboration comprises short, medium and long-term phases. The short-term phase is a 3-month internship programme where successful interns will join Sunway as permanent employees.

Exchange of documents between Sunway Berhad and the Ministry of Youth and Sports following the signing ceremony.

The medium-term sponsorship programme will kick-start after two batches of interns. Students will be assessed at the end of their first year studies, and eligible candidates will be given monthly allowance until the completion of their studies. Following that, they will join Sunway Group as permanent employees.

The long-term plan consists of a visiting lecturer programme. Sunway’s technical leaders and experts will conduct sharing sessions with IKBN trainers to ensure lecturers are kept up to date with latest industry trends and best practices. As part of this, Sunway Group will conduct sharing sessions with 15 IKBN trainers, collectively drafting curriculum for the students in line with the employer-led curriculum concept and providing equipment in suitability of the programme structure.

Under this collaboration, a minimum of 90 students from IKBN will be selected based on merits to undergo internships in Sunway Group. During the three months, the students will not only learn engineering, electrical and hospitality works, but also be able to acquire soft skills to prepare themselves in facing real world challenges.