As Sarawak positions itself towards a more sustainable economy, the focus on human capital is ever more paramount.

It is no secret that human capital is important for businesses. Without talent, businesses cannot survive.

A business is nothing without its people, just as a strategy is nothing without the people to drive it forward.

The best people boost productivity, save time and money, and ultimately grow the organisation.

Since 1971, a multitude of policies and government projects have been rolled out to include ways for improving the development of industries and job creation.

These projects came with much support from both public and private sector and Malaysia job creation had overtaken human resource development.

The country was unable to keep up with the demand for skilled labour.
However, in aspiring to further transform into a high income, advanced nation by the end of the decade, the country’s requirements for top talent are urgent and immediate.

This is why the state government will make skills training its priority to meet increasing demand for skilled workforce in local industries, Land Development Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing said.

The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) is one key node with extensive employment opportunities.

It is increasingly important for job seekers to have the proper know-how and skills comparable to the talents from developed countries.
This is more so when foreign companies come into the state to set up regional offices or factories to work with, putting the pressure on for employers to source for credible talent.

Business intelligence group Inside Investor explained that research and development (R&D), creativity and innovation were crucial elements that would significantly contribute to move the state up the value chain.

It mentioned that currently there were a number of universities and research institutes in Sarawak working on innovation strategies, including in the fields of biofuel, new wood products and alternative industrial application for palm oil.

“For example, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) is undertaking a project to transform oil palm waste into biofuel. It has conducted a study on overall sago usage at its pioneer plant, which started in 2010.

“This project is the result of a RM11 million allocation given by the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry,” it added.
Similar reseach were going on at other universities.

For example, Curtin University Sarawak is looking at greenhouse gases and generating energy from palm oil.

These advancements emphasise the importance of the universities locally on their ability to predict the upcoming demand of the workforce and deliver a quality supply to match.

Arguably, there are courses offered by universities everywhere where demand would always be consistent These courses also have to evolve to cater to the needs of the ever changing industry.

For example, in the field of accounting, there are various niches that extend far beyond regular financial and managerial accounting.
There are also forensic accounting, tax accounting as well as risk management.

In a media report, Jennifer Lopez, head of ACCA Malaysia highlighted that Malaysia will need 60,000 financial talents by 2020, emphasizing the demand for such talents coming out of our universities.

While courses such as finance and accounting are relatively common, there are certain niche or industry specific courses that are slowly gaining traction.

Oil and gas, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and even power generation are among these newly-sought-after cources for graduates in Sarawak today due to the implementation of the SCORE programme introduced by the state government.

Certain fields such as oil and gas, being a highly prominent industry in Sarawak, requires certain skills that are hard to find in the market and being such a specific industry, not many universities are capable to supply to the demand.

BizHive Weekly talks to some of Sarawak’s universities about its efforts to address the future of the state’s workforce needs.
Swinburne: Diversifying with new courses

Swinburne University of Technology (Sarawak campus) is one of the patriarchal private institutions in Kuching well known for its graduate programmes, especially in the field of business and engineering.

The university’s pro vice chancellor, Professor Anthony Cahalan said the university plays an integral role in producing graduates who are geared towards the development of the state, as well as key research projects that enable innovation with industry.

Speaking on the reason for courses offered in the university, the professor explained that Swinburne was initially invited to set up a campus in Sarawak by the state government particularly because of the university’s focus on technology, science, engineering and business: the areas that the Sarawak government has identified as critical workforce requirements for Sarawak.

Swinburne opened its Sarawak campus in 2000 and has since grown to a student population of nearly 4,000.
“Additionally, Swinburne’s particular expertise in innovation in these areas is why we were asked to establish our campus in Kuching,” Anthony told BizHive Weekly.

“Through our links with our Board, Council and advisory committees, we are able to maintain strong connections with the state’s human capital needs.
“We are developing significant research projects with Sarawak companies and employment rates for Swinburne graduates are high. Reflecting Swinburne’s contributions to the Sarawak government’s view that higher education is one of the key drivers for taking Sarawak to the next levels of development,” Cahalan explained.
The pro vice chancellor added that the take up rate for the courses offered by the university has been good, without giving specific figures, but the professor did explain that after 14 years of operation in Sarawak, “we are still intrinsically intwined with Sarawak’s aspirations.”
Cahalan further added that the university has a strong connection with Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, so the institution is making sure that students have pathways to go to Melbourne to continue their studies should they wish to.
“We are doing this by primarily offering the same courses in Kuching that are offered in Melbourne.”

Matching up to Sarawak’s work needs
In terms of catering for the workforce demands, Cahalan opined that Malaysian parents play a central role in helping their children decide what to study at university and because Swinburne maintains strong links to Sarawak’s development.
“Parents feel quite comfortable that there are clearly defined career destinations for their children when they study at Swinburne, while also strengthening their English language skills and networking for future opportunities with international students also studying here,” he said.
Industry-based education is a critical part of Swinburne’s philosophy in producing work-ready graduates. Cahalan also enthused that the university have a working cooperation with different partners to identify potential placements for the graduates.
“We are regularly approached by Sarawakian companies to work with our students and this emphasises Swinburne’s role as a key player in Sarawak in providing a link between the state’s aspirations, university education and employment.”
To highlight this point, the professor noted that based on a number of surveys of Swinburne Sarawak graduates, it was found out that of those actively seeking work six months after graduation, nearly 95 per cent are employed and mostly in fields in which they have most recently studied.
The high employment rate as well as the fact that more than 90 per cent were in fields that they were studying before highlights the university’s ability to not only understand current workplace demands but also that the university produces workplace ready graduates that are able to cope and perform in their areas of occupation ranging from financial sectors to engineering.
Touching on demand, there is also the question of ‘what next?’, outlining which sectors does the university expect to have an increase in demand.
One such new course was the Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology).
When asked about it, Cahalan explained “The request for the bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) course came from the Sarawak government and the graduates will be making contributions to the state’s Halal Hub as well as Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) in the area of clean energy.
“There is financial support from the Malaysian government for biotechnology graduates and strong employment demand in the Southeast Asian region.”
Curtin: Sustaining quality
At the other end of the state, Curtin University is another university in its standings as one of Sarawak’s major choices as a private institution go-to.
The university has a cornucopia of courses available and when asked on the choices of courses offered, Professor Jim Mienczakowski, pro vice chancellor of Curtin Sarawak explained, “The reasoning for these courses were because of their practical and applied nature, which equip graduates with essential skills through exposure to industry and business.
“Students gain valuable work experience through industry exposure, industry and site visits, interacting with local and international industry professionals.”
He added that the courses offered offer the students considerable flexibility, stating that students have the freedom to follow their interests as they learn more about their field before choosing a major that suits their career goals.
“All courses are run using the same unit structure and study materials as the main campus in Perth. Students are assured of equivalent standard and learning experience and can transfer between two campuses to complete their Curtin degree.
“Students learn from lecturers with real industry experience. Examinations are also set by the main campus and Curtin degrees earned are awarded by the main campus.”

To further prove his point, the professor explained that the courses that are taught in the university were done by academics with real industry experience, many of whom are graduates of reputable universities across the world and are PhD holders.
“Our lecturers are frequently recognised for their teaching excellence, often at international level. They also keep up with the latest developments in subject areas and integrate the newest advancements in educational technology into their classes,” he enthused.

Tapping into corridor’s growth demands
Each semester Mienczakowski explained that the university have around 600 to 700 new intake for these courses.
“Since we have two intakes per year (in March and July), then we have a total around 1,200 new students per year. Currently, we have a total of around 3,500 students studying at Curtin Sarawak. It is expected to grow to 5,000 students in the next few years.
“And in the face of new development in Sarawak like SCORE, the demand on graduates with the university degree, especially in the area of Engineering, has been high. Curtin Sarawak has been supplying its graduates to some major multinational companies operating at Samalaju.
“For example, at least 15 our graduates have been employed by Tokuyama, one of the major players in Samalaju manufacturing polycrystalline,” the professor explained.

Mienczakowski further added to the topic of catering for the workforce demand by noting that the university is offering Electrical Power Engineering as the need for Sarawak to develop hydropower is sought after and hence the university’s push for this area.
“For mechatronics programme, we only offer one year study in Curtin Sarawak campus where after that one year period, the students need to transfer to our main campus to complete their degree.

“Mechatronics graduates are in demand at other places in Malaysia such as KL, Johor Baru and Penang. Clearly, these graduate destination is not only limited to Sarawak but also other parts of Malaysia, or even overseas such as Singapore and Australia.”
“As of today, the most popular programmes in our campus are Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil & Construction Engineering and Accounting. Yes, the reasons are due to the flexibility in finding jobs post-graduation in Malaysia.
“Curtin Sarawak has strong linkages with private sectors both industries and companies. Such a linkage, the pro-vice chancellor said, would benefit students as they will be exposed to professional practice.

“As a result, the students would gain practical experiences while they are undertaking their courses at our campus. Examples of activities are industrial guest speakers, internships, industrial site visits, industrial sponsored competitions and so on.”
Corridors of opportunity
Job demand tends to be highly localised to specific areas where the government has placed emphasis on. A fine example which could be seen here in Sarawak would be the Samalaju Industrial park where a large workforce migration moved to the area.

Government initiatives such as the Iskandar Malaysia, the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER), Sabah Development Corridor (SDC), East Coast Economic Region (ECER) and SCORE has opened up new avenues and brought in large amounts of foreign direct investments (FDI).
While these provided an opportunity for employment in typical areas like engineering and finance, there are also other areas aside from the usual which the current market has a demand for.

One such sector based on BizHive Weekly’s observations is an increase in employment in Sarawak’s hospitality and tourism industry, boosted by Sarawak’s increasing awareness on the global platform.

With a myriad of tourist hotspots ranging from Bako national park to Mulu, there is abundance the state has to offer but due to limited resources and manpower, it has not been brought to its fullest potential.

In a media report, Jagdeep Singh of INTI College noted that hospitality isn’t just about hotels and resort management – the tourism and hospitality sector is larger than most presumed.

The development of SCORE has also placed pressure on the tourism sector to push harder and target certain niche tourism such as eco-tourism and medical tourism.

As such, this avenue has yet to fully embrace its full potential which could lure millions more worth of investment for the state.
On the business front, there is a plenitude of categories which the state would need in order to progress. With so many multinational companies entering Sarawak, graduates in international business, for example, are no doubt a sought after commodity.
International business degree holders specialises in items such as international travel, business dealings as well as import export management.
With more and more multinationals, travel becomes part of the job and these are candidates which are trained to serve in these kind of environment.

Another sub category of business slated for increase in demand would be in public relations, a segment crucial for branding businesses and communicate with the public on serious matters.
Despite the high amount of businesses in Sarawak, a number of them do not have the necessary public relations in place to deal with many new concerns, such as corporate social responsibility.

Public relations deal with image creation as well as helping the business get their name out there and create a positive image of the company itself.

Within engineering itself, the conscious move to be more environmentally friendly has pushed for environmental engineering, a niche in its own accord.

In the long term period, providing the right kind of education – and guiding students towards education that best suit their aims – will see the state reach optimal talent equlibrium someday.

Source: The Borneo Post