By Yee Mei
Digital upskilling programmes such as the PETRONAS BeDigital Bootcamp play an important role in the growth and development of the Sarawak workforce, commented Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development Sarawak Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.
“I think the significance of this (BeDigital Bootcamp) programme is two-pronged. Firstly, it will decrease the number of unemployment; and most importantly, it can avoid brain drain from Sarawak,” said Dr Annuar, who attended the closing ceremony of PETRONAS BeDigital Bootcamp, held for the first time in Kuching, Sarawak recently.
He also described the PETRONAS BeDigital Bootcamp programme as a beacon of hope for final-year students as it provided excellent employment opportunities for them.
The bootcamp gathered 100 students from six universities in Sarawak—Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Curtin University Malaysia, University of Technology Sarawak (UTS), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sarawak, and Universiti Putra Malaysia Kampus Bintulu (UPMKB).
Held in Unimas from August 14 to 25, the participants, fondly referred to as ‘campers’, were upskilled in several areas, including organising data, data visualisation, analytics, and data storytelling, aside from undergoing a ‘shark tank pitch’ to showcase their entrepreneurial and presentation skills.
It also aims to strengthen local undergraduates’ digital and entrepreneurial skills to meet current and future job market demands.
The bootcamp was supported by partners Sarawak Energy Berhad, Sarawak Media Group Sdn Bhd, Schlumberger WTA (M) Sdn Bhd, Sakura Ferroalloys Sdn Bhd, Enfrasys Consulting Sdn Bhd, FPT Software Company Limited and Tata Consultancy Services.
At the end of the programme, about 40 participants received conditional employment offers from the partners as well as PETRONAS subsidiaries—PETRONAS Carigali Sdn Bhd (Sarawak Assets), Asean Bintulu Fertilizer Sdn Bhd, PETRONAS Research Sdn Bhd, PETRONAS Digital Sdn Bhd, and Malaysia LNG Sdn Bhd.
Positive feedback from ‘campers’
Unimas student Dellon Nelson, who received conditional employment offers from FPT Software and PETRONAS Digital, said: “I am very proud and grateful for the conditional job offers from the two companies because they gave me the opportunity to be interviewed and they trusted me by offering me employment,” he said.
Abang Mohamed Adeeb, also from Unimas, who received a conditional employment offer from PETRONAS Research Sdn Bhd, said: “I was excited to meet a lot of new people and like-minded individuals.
“Along the way, I made friends, and I enjoyed the workshop and modules, which enhanced my skills and provided me with the ability to go through job interviews,” he said.
Ong Chien Ming from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak also received a conditional employment offer from PETRONAS Digital. She described her experience as rewarding and enjoyable.
“I got the opportunity to learn about more things and experience new things that we don’t experience in the university.
“It was a nervous experience due to the uncertainties and challenges that we went through during the bootcamp. But as I got to meet more people, we all know that we’re on the same boat, and we became more eager to learn and make the most of this experience,” she said.
Empowering youth with digital skills
The bootcamp, which is in its second year, has trained four cohorts comprising 268 students from higher learning institutions in Sabah and Sarawak. A total of 83 students have received conditional employment offers from PETRONAS Digital Sdn Bhd and its recruiting partners.
PETRONAS Senior Vice President of Project Delivery and Technology (PD&T) Datuk Bacho Pilong believes that some of the talents from the programme may one day emerge as global players, serving the world’s needs.
“I will not be surprised if, one fine day, we will see these participants working with successful organisations somewhere, maybe even those based overseas. That should be part of our dream. They could also be based in Malaysia, delivering jobs coming from wherever, such as the United States and Europe. I think that should be our aspiration,” said Bacho.
“The whole intent is about fulfilling our promise on human progress, in which the foundation is knowledge, and we believe in empowering the youth with digital skills along with knowledge to prepare them for the future. Following the success of this programme, we hope to organise another BeDigital Bootcamp in Sarawak next year,” Bacho added.
PETRONAS Vice President of Group Strategic Relations and Communications, Nooruddin Abdullah; managing director/chief executive officer of Malaysia LNG Mohamed Syazwan @ Laga Jenggi; and Unimas vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Mohamad Kadim Suaidi were among those present at the closing ceremony.
— DayakDaily
