Government's Upskilling Programme Accelerates Graduates For Careers In The Service Industry

Putrajaya, 8 February 2013—A total of 207 graduates forming the eighth intake of the Graduate Career Accelerated Programme (GCAP) received their certificates today in a ceremony held to mark their successful completion of a Government-sponsored training programme aimed to improve the employability of Malaysian graduates in the service industry.

On hand to present the certificates at the ceremony was the Minister of Higher Education Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin. Also present were Johan Mahmood Merican, Chief Executive Officer of Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) and Omar Shariff, Managing Director of My Partners Sdn Bhd.

“In line with the Graduate Employability Blueprint developed by the Ministry of Higher Education, GCAP represents efforts by the Government to ensure that young Malaysian graduates emerge better equipped to meet the needs of today’s industry,” said Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

GCAP is a collaborative initiative between the Ministry of Higher Education, TalentCorp and My Partners together with leading employers to enhance the employability of graduates.

“A strategic priority for TalentCorp is to Optimise Malaysian Talent which focuses on the pipeline of young Malaysian graduate talent. Designed to enhance the marketability and career prospects of our graduates, GCAP enables us to best match the capabilities and inclinations of young Malaysians with rewarding and fulfilling opportunities arising from our economic transformation,” said Johan Mahmood Merican.

“Graduates who have successfully completed the programme will be placed in various industries through a series of career fair organized by My Partners. To date almost 30% of the GCAP graduates have found employment in leading employers such as CIMB, Syarikat Prasarana, Malakoff, Celcom Axiata, to name a few” said Omar Shariff.

Under the 6-weeks programme, GCAP trainees are put through experiential and interactive training based on industry input provided by partner-employers to develop essential skills like problem solving and business etiquette, in addition to improving their verbal and written communication skills.

Trainees are awarded the Professional Certificate in Global Service Management (PCGSM) upon the successful completion of the programme. This increases their chances for employment with GCAP’s participating partner-employers, who include SMEs, GLCs, and blue-chip MNCs in industries as diverse as Telecommunications, Tourism, and Finance.

The GCAP programme is open to Malaysian graduates from local public and private Institutions of Higher Learning with a CGPA of 2.3 and above in any field of study. Since its start in 2012, a total of 1536 degree holders have completed their GCAP training. Currently there are 1052 graduates undergoing training at various locations in the country.

GCAP is one of the upskilling initiatives that TalentCorp has partnered with the private sector. In 2011, TalentCorp initiated FasTrack, an upskilling programme to accelerate the development of the Research and Development (R&D) talent pool for Malaysia’s Electrical & Electronics sector.