“UPSKILLING THE NATION”
MOU Signing between National Upskilling Committee, HRDF &
Tan Chong Technical Institute
Left to right: Mr. CM Vignaesvaran a/l Jeyandran, Deputy CEO of PSMB; Y Bhg Dato’ Hj Mohd Shariff Hussin, Chairman of NUC, HRDF; YBhg Dato’ Haji Omar Bin Haji Awang, CEO of HRDF, Dr Paul Leow, Executive Director of Tan Chong Education; Y Bhg Dato’ Rosie Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad; Y Bhg Datuk Yaacob Wan Ibrahim, Advisor, TCTECH.
Georgetown, Penang – 27th June 2014 marks a milestone in the history of Tan Chong Technical Institute (TCTech), a subsidiary of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad with the signing of the Upskilling The Nation Memorandum of Understanding. Y Bhg Dato’ Rosie Tan of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad together with Y Bhg Dato’ Haji Mohd Shariff Hussin, Chairman of National Upskilling Committee (NUC) and Y Bhg Dato’ Haji Omar, CEO of Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF)) graced the memorable event with a signing ceremony held at The Royale Bintang Penang today.
Recognition of Prior Learning is an initiative endorsed by the Ministry of Human Resources through HRDF and in association with the Great Britain College Consortium (GBCC). The GBCC consisting of 4 large UK government colleges is one of the key performance indicators that will contribute to the nation’s upskilling of our current workforce to achieve developed nation status by 2020.
There is a need to upskill 22% of the existing workforce or approximately 3.08 million people to skilled level, equivalent to a UK Diploma Level 4. The MOU signing initiates upskilling programs for working adults. Staff from various sectors e.g. construction, business & finance, transportation, hotel, travel, education and training, manufacturing, property, hospital …. (the list is endless) may apply to convert their skills through the RPL exercise. Staff with 5 – 8 years of work experience and having two subordinates reporting to them at work is eligible, and is encouraged to apply to TCTECH. No upfront fee is necessary and upon approval, staff may decide to claim from HRDF the conversion fee or apply for the PTPK loan with a repayment of just RM100 per month.
To achieve this objective, the government has allocated RM400 million to upskill the Malaysian workforce. The fund makes it possible for working adults to convert their work experience to recognized British Diploma that is acceptable for entry to a general degree.
This diploma also opens pathways for candidates to further their education at the final year of a foundation degree.
It is hoped that those who take up this challenge to upskill, will have the opportunity to scale new heights in terms of career advancement, self-confidence and job satisfaction. For companies, upskilling staff may be one of the effective methods to retain experienced staff.
The fees for the upskilling programme are affordable with various payment options to cater to individual needs such as HRDF sponsorship, PTPK Low Interest Loan and Repayment or self-financing.
