First Ind-E-Zone In Kelantan Launched To Connect Undergraduates To Internship And Career Prospects

Bachok, 1 November 2015 - The Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, launched the first Industry Engagement Zone (Ind-E-Zone) in Kelantan today at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). 

Industry Engagement Zone or Ind-E-Zone is an initiative introduced by Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) to provide a platform for greater industry engagement with university students towards enhancing graduate employability. Providing opportunities for undergraduates to interact with employers, it is intended to empower students to better prepare themselves for employment. 

The centre, which will be located in a dedicated area within UMK’s campus, connects undergraduates to industry-relevant content and educate them on internship and career opportunities within Malaysia’s key industries. Additionally, they offer a range of activities such as Industry Engagements, Networking Sessions, Career Talks and Sharing Sessions with employers to help students make more informed career decisions.
In his speech, YB Minister called for greater partnership between educational institutions and the private sector in order to develop industry-ready Malaysian talent to address the needs of employers.
YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed said: “It is critical that we produce industry-relevant, industry-ready graduates with the skill sets to meet the needs of employers across Malaysia’s key economic sectors. Nationwide collaborative efforts between industry and academia, like Ind-E-Zone, are especially important to optimise our talent pool.”

TalentCorp also organised an Employability Bootcamp for UMK graduates as well as graduates in East Coast who are still seeking employment. The three day bootcamp included various employability modules such as CV Workshop and interview preparation session. A key highlight of the bootcamp was interviews with 15 employers like QSR Brands, Human Capital Connection, Ekuinas, Tony Roma’s, Shiseido, Bosch and Pizza Hut, which provided an opportunity for the graduates to put their newly learned skills to practice and gain employment in managerial roles. 

TalentCorp also appointed three UMK students as Graduate Employability (GE) Avengers, who will act as Campus Ambassadors to administrate the UMK Ind-E-Zone centre.

The first Ind-E-Zone centre was launched in November 2014 at the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPN). By the end of 2015, Ind-E-Zone centres will be operational in 11 public universities throughout Malaysia. The selected universities are UPN, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UMP), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). 

The Ind-E-Zone is part of the Industry-Academia Collaboration initiative announced in Budget 2015. Under the Industry-Academia Collaboration, TalentCorp and the Ministry of Education will partner to implement further initiatives, focusing especially on embedding industry relevant curriculum and improving industrial training for graduates.

For more information on TalentCorp and its efforts to enhance graduate employability, please visit www.talentcorp.com.my