Discover the initiatives under MoHE’s Penjana KPT 2023 that are enhancing graduate marketability in Malaysia. Explore the programs and strategies aimed at assisting graduates with the skills and knowledge for a competitive job market.
Administered under the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE), PENJANA KPT also known as the National Economic Recovery Plan, is given an allocation to implement a program called PENJANA-KPT that focuses on the award of professional certifications and increasing graduate’s marketability in the working sector. PENJANA-KPT consists of multiple programs such as PENJANA-KPT PACE where final semester students and graduates of 2021 and above are given a chance to obtain professional certifications. The cost of certificates in their own field of study is wholly funded by the MoHE. Similarly, the same programme which focuses on career advancement: PENJANA KPT-CAP, allows students to attain a placement after the program ends.
1. Programs and Initiatives Under PENJANA-KPT
Due to the devastating effects that have been caused by the pandemic, MoHE has taken several initiatives to ensure that Malaysian graduates are given an opportunity to be employed through the usage of professional certifications. For instance, under PENJANA-KPT CAP, there are 13 courses listed where there is no fee being charged and are fully sponsored by the government. Among the courses include:
- Certified Digital Marketer
- Certified Azure Administrator
- Certified Cloud Solutions Architect
- Certified Cloud Developer
- Certified Java Developer
- Certified ASP. Net Developer
- Certified Php & MySQL Developer
- Certified C# Developer
- Certified Data Analyst
- Certified Data Scientist
- Certified Data Scientist
- Certified Network Engineer
- Certified IT Engineer
This program is free and also offers guaranteed employment to graduates who possess any of the certifications. What is more crucial about PENJANA-KPT is that most of the courses are considered to be the Top 10 Highest Demand Digital Tech Skills among employers.
2. How Students Are Eligible for PENJANA’s Programmes
Unlike PENJANA KPT, KPT PACE is a program that is exclusively designed to monitor the offer of programmes made by universities or other institutions of higher learning. Through this programme, all data on offers and implementation of programmes that are collated in the report will then be submitted to the agency under PENJANA that coordinates skill enhancement programmes such as HRDF also known as Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) under the Ministry of Human Resources.
Students then are required to send in their application information through KPT’s Graduates Reference Hub for Employment and Training (GREaT) portal where multiple courses of their choice are listed.
For example, students can have access to this website to register for their professional certifications: KPT PACE Login
3. PENJANA’s Impacts on Graduate’s Marketability
- Increases skills development
Under the PENJANA’s programme, students are allowed to explore professional careers which are previously only available to those who can afford it. It also means that students regardless of their financial background are given the opportunity to increase their skill development in many aspects. For instance, through this programme, they can find out their skills and expand them to be a part of their career. Skills involving tech for example are one of the many talents that employers are seeking especially when it comes to youth. Thus, by joining this programme, not only that it is free, but the students can also hone their skills to be on par with those who have years of experience in their respective fields.
- Innovative and creative
Innovation and creativity are still underrated in Malaysia. Although this country has long applied the concept of looking to the East, however, the aspect of being creative is sometimes forgotten. This is because most employers are only seeking innovative students yet rarely those who possess a combination of both. So, through this PENJANA programme, the acts of innovating something new while maintaining their creative side, students can discover their interests and upskills the said which plays a vital role especially since foreign tech investors are eyeing this country to establish companies.
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