Talentcorp Signs MoU With Agilent Technologies For Graduate Upskilling Programme

PULAU PINANG, 18 JANUARY 2012 - Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with electronic and bio-analytical measurement company Agilent Technologies (Agilent), for a graduate upskilling programme designed to enhance talent development within Malaysia's bio-analytical industry.

The signing ceremony took place at the TalentCorp: The Road Ahead industry dialogue which was attended by over 50 senior representatives and HR practitioners of some of the leading companies in Penang. Held at Intel Penang, the event provided a platform to raise awareness of TalentCorp's initiatives and to discuss the development of further public-private sector collaborations in addressing the talent requirements of the Electrical & Electronic (E&E) sector.

The MoU represents a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative to provide a two-year upskilling and apprenticeship programme for Malaysian graduates. The programme is tailored towards the specific needs required by the bio-analytical industry, as it moves up the value chain.

"Nurturing top Malaysian talent in Malaysia will be a key focus area for TalentCorp in 2012, particularly to better prepare young graduate talent for the demands of industry, especially knowledge intensive sectors like E&E, which are moving up the value chain in line with the Economic Tranformation Programme (ETP). The MoU signed today with Agilent is in line with TalentCorp's approach of building effective partnerships with private sector to address the talent needs of the ETP," said Johan Mahmood Merican, Chief Executive Officer of TalentCorp.

He added that the bio-analytical upskilling programme with Agilent joins a series of upskilling programmes driven by TalentCorp to nurture top Malaysian graduates with competencies in R&D and high value added technology, in line with the evolving talent needs of industries moving up the value chain.

In April 2011, TalentCorp introduced the FasTrack programme, an upskilling and apprenticeship programme to enlarge the pool of Research and Development (R&D) engineers needed in the E&E sector. The first phase of FasTrack, which commenced in June 2011, saw the participation of 100 fresh graduates and five companies, namely Agilent Technologies, Altera Corporation, Intel Corporation, Motorola and Silterra Malaysia.

Additionally, TalentCorp in November 2011 signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and the Selangor Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC) to develop upskilling and apprenticeship programmes. The programmes are expected to produce over 1000 engineers trained with competencies relating to R&D and high value added technology, benefitting over 50 companies in key economic sectors.