KUALA LUMPUR, 31 October 2012: Young talents in Malaysia will be equipped with career awareness, industry insights and relevant information together with words of inspiration to increase their marketability and employability with the launch of the Ready4Work portal today.
The portal was developed by Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia through its MyLinE portal. The portal was launched at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Campus by Minister of Higher Education, YB Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
In his speech, the Minister said, “The implementation of the Ready4Work portal is in line with the Graduate Employability Blueprint developed by MoHE to enhance the marketability and employability of our young talents in Malaysia.”
In his welcoming address, the Pro Chancellor of UTM, YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Salleh Mohd. Noor concurred that the Blue Ocean Strategy between MoHE, TalentCorp and UTM will enhance graduates’ awareness of the employability needs of the industry. The collaboration will also bring about high impact results that will contribute towards the marketability and employability of our young talents.
Ready4Work aims to reach out to future and recent graduates of public institutions of higher learning in Malaysia. With the readily available students currently registered as users of MyLinE, Ready4Work portal is set to benefit almost half a million users across the nation.
“The Ready4Work portal is an excellent resource to help prepare students and young graduates who are about to set foot into the working world,” said Mohd Khalis Abd Rahim, Chief Human Capital Officer, Group Human Capital Management of Telekom Malaysia.
Originating from an idea that the Internet is a promising tool to enhance Malaysia’s graduate employability, TalentCorp partnered with MoHE and UTM through its MyLinE portal in laying the foundation for the Ready4Work portal. In developing the portal, 10 founding partners and industry players which include Accenture, Axiata, CIMB, Ernst&Young, Intel, Maxis, Maybank, Motorola, PwC, TM, and content partners like PEMANDU, BFM, and Graduan have demonstrated generosity and commitment to this national talent agenda.
“This project would not have been possible without the far-sightedness of UTM and MoHE, as well as the generosity of leading Malaysian employers,” said TalentCorp CEO Johan Mahmood Merican. The high quality content contributed by these founding partners on career and necessary skills with the aim to increase graduates’ marketability and employability is just the beginning, as it is believed that Ready4Work will continue to grow with more leading employers joining the cause.
“Ready4Work is supported by its founding partners who are key industry players. The content is directly relevant to young graduates who are looking to embark on their career or simply for personal development purposes. It is accessible and the delivery modes are aligned with the preferred way of learning of our younger generation”, said Lee Soo Fern, People Leader of Ernst & Young.
With such relevant content, Ready4Work will introduce the working world to the students as early as possible and provide on-the-job learning opportunities.
To further demonstrate the relevance of the portal to young graduates, Datin Badrunnisa, the Group Chief Talent Officer of Axiata said, “We at Axiata believe that ‘readiness’ to take on a career is something that requires deliberate development beyond the academics. Ready4Work, being a self-service portal would allow busy undergraduates to plan their entry into the workplace at their own pace throughout their university years”.
To highlight the commitment of industry players in assisting the country towards the betterment of the young generation, Chua Chai Ping, Country HR Lead for Accenture said, “Accenture is very proud to contribute to nation building and as we walk the journey with TalentCorp towards Malaysia becoming a high-income nation by 2020, the learning, the experience and the outcomes have been phenomenal!”
Sri Nair, the Managing Partner of PwC in a statement, commented, “Through the Ready4Work portal, we hope to share real and practical tips with undergraduates about landing your first job, beyond what you learn in the classroom. PwC is pleased to be one of the founding partners of this initiative, which gives us a wider reach through an on-line platform. I’m sure many other corporations will see the value in working together with TalentCorp and UTM to upskill our local graduates.”
Among the content available in Ready4Work are interview tips and preparations, online learning on industry valued skills and a collection of inspirational and motivational talks by senior leaders of the companies.
Students can access Ready4work either directly at http://ready4work.my or through the MyLine portal at http://myline.utm.my.