Manpower Training Requirement Programme for SCORE trainees receive certificates from Curtin Sarawak

Miri – 10 September 2009 – 125 trainees comprising project managers, engineers, technical supervisors and technicians of locally-based companies recently received certificates of participation following completion of 3-day technical training courses at Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak).

They represented the first batch of trainees under the Government’s Manpower Training Requirement Programme for the Sarawak Corridor for Renewable Energy (SCORE) being implemented by the State Ministry of Industrial Development and conducted here in Miri by Curtin Sarawak.

The Manpower Training Requirement Programme for SCORE is part of a series of structured manpower training programmes being carried out throughout the country under the National Stimulus Package 2009 to progress the nation’s capacity-building, knowledge acquisition and skills development.

Provided free of charge, the courses under the programmes allow a significant number of industry practitioners from all sectors to benefit. Curtin Sarawak alone is expected to train over 2,000 participants by the end of 2010.

Modules taught at Curtin Sarawak under the programme are Process Technology, Applied Process Control, Multivariate Data Analysis, Transportation Engineering and Environmental Engineering. All the modules are facilitated by experienced academics of the School of Engineering and Science, many of whom are PhD holders and active researchers in their respective fields.

In his address during the Certificate Presentation Ceremony held at the university, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr. George Chan Hong Nam,  who is also Chairman of the Curtin Sarawak Council, remarked that the programme will help develop the State’s human capital to meet future demands generated by SCORE.

He said SCORE was envisioned to transform Sarawak into a developed state by 2020, and the training programme shows just how serious the Government is about achieving that goal.

He also said the modules offered at Curtin Sarawak, which are very technology-orientated and specially formulated in line with SCORE’s technical skills requirements, are most appropriate and timely.

Also present were Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who is also the Chairman of the Curtin Sarawak Management Board; Chairman of the Curtin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Board of Directors Datu Dr. Hatta bin Solhee, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr. Joan Gribble, Pujut state assemblyman Andy Chia, and Mayor of Miri Lawrence Lai.

Datuk Patinggi Dr. Chan thanked the Curtin Sarawak School of Engineering and Science and the university’s consultancy arm, Curtin Consultancy (M) Sdn Bhd, for the successful implementation of the programme, saying, “I am proud that Curtin Sarawak has been appointed to conduct the programme here in Miri. Being a university of technology, and moreover one with an outstanding reputation for quality research in the region, made Curtin Sarawak a prime candidate for the programme.”

He disclosed that the Government is committing some RM3.7 million towards the programme at Curtin Sarawak and expressed confidence that the returns will be well worth the investment.

Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr. Joan Gribble meanwhile said Curtin Sarawak is proud to contribute to enhancing Malaysia’s intellectual asset pool and the development of SCORE. She said the university is mindful that for Malaysia to reach the ranks of a high-income nation and for Sarawak to take the quantum leap to developed status, it first needs a skilled labour force derived from well-educated citizens.

“As such, Curtin Sarawak will continue to partner the Government and other stakeholders in programmes that will help progress capacity building and knowledge and skills enhancement,” she said.

The next intake for the Manpower Training Requirement Programme for SCORE at Curtin Sarawak will be in October. There are limited spaces available and registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. A trainee can choose more than one module and all courses and training texts will be in English. For participants from outside Miri, limited accommodation and transportation support will be provided.

Those who wish to register can contact Ms. Sopia Reggie of Curtin Consultancy Services (M) Sdn. Bhd. at 085-443939 ext. 3856/3924, fax to 085-443985 or e-mail to sopia.reggie@curtin.edu.my.

Participants and VIPs posing for a group photo at the end of the

Certificate Presentation Ceremony.

A trainee receiving her certificate from Datuk Patinggi Dr. Chan.

A training session conducted by Curtin Sarawak lecturer in progress