PERANTIS ISKANDAR to jumpstart 200 high-value jobs in Johor
Iskandar Puteri, 6 December 2021: Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB), through its subsidiary, EduCity Iskandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd (EduCity) launched the PERANTIS Iskandar programme, a dedicated Human Capital Development programme aimed at revitalising economic development for the Iskandar Malaysia region. The goal is to educate and develop technical talent readily employable for high-demand industries in Johor. The programme supports the government's scheme to address severe unemployment challenges bought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. PERANTIS Iskandar, modelled after Germany's highly successful apprenticeship programme, was designed to meet industry demands for qualified technical talent through upskilling.
Johor Menteri Besar, Dato’ Haji Hasni bin Mohammad, during the PERANTIS Iskandar launch on 6 December 2021, said "This programme undoubtedly will create a win-win solution all around for the programme apprentices to upskill themselves in relevant key fields as we continue to navigate and develop the landscape of the Johor Digital Economy. This programme will also benefit companies in high demand industries throughout Johor access a larger pool of talent with better technical skills."
According to IIB President and Chairman of EduCity Iskandar, Datuk Ir. Khairil Anwar Ahmad, "PERANTIS Iskandar aims to help alleviate economic challenges for the people of Johor, by helping to develop 200 high-value jobs in this area. We look forward to increasing our role in developing the talent pool, which includes upskilling programmes and new education and training partnerships. Among the industries involved in this programme are Artificial Intelligence, the Digital Automotive Industry, and the Creative industry, all centred around IR4.0."
Today's event also announced EduCity's collaborations with key government agencies who play an essential role in talent development, namely TalentCorp, Malaysia Board of Technologies (MBOT) and Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (YPPB). The objective of the collaboration is to develop a series of innovative talent development programmes to support the nation's youth and unemployed graduates through a document exchange ceremony that was witnessed by Dato’ Haji Hasni bin Mohammad today.
Wan Ahmad Saifuddin Wan Ahmad Radzi, EduCity's Managing Director, highlighted the importance of these collaborations as another step towards making the PERANTIS Iskandar programme available nationwide. "We are excited as these collaborations will see us working together to strengthen the talent ecosystem for the youth and unemployed graduates, in line with the government's efforts to drive Malaysia towards a high-income nation through academic funding programme, TVET certification and professional accreditation.
PERANTIS Iskandar programme is guided by the vision to 'FAST FORWARD YOUR CAREER', and is part of EduCity's contribution to support the country's effort to ensure our youth are employed in the RIGHT INDUSTRIES with the RIGHT SALARY. This programme was made possible as EduCity, a subsidiary of IIB, was awarded RM5 million in March 2021 by the Ministry of Finance through IRDA initiatives to implement the PERANTIS Iskandar programme.
The programme encompasses a combination of an up to six-month training and on-the-job attachment with guaranteed one-year employment with the participating companies at the end of the training period. The talent pool would include unemployed youths up to 35 years old who possess SPM, STPM, Diploma or a Bachelor's degree. The organisations committed to accepting successful apprentices are Imagine AI, Bateriku.Com and Majlis Sukan Negeri Johor (MSNJ).
PERANTIS Iskandar officially started their training programme on 12 September 2021 and works closely with industry partners. Apprentices who have completed their training would be assigned to specific industries at a minimum salary of RM2,000 per month. Following the current Johor-based PERANTIS Iskandar programme, EduCity is currently designing a 2.0 version that would be industry-funded and would potentially run for a longer duration and be available for deployment nationwide.
PERANTIS Iskandar programme currently offers four (4) programmes: Automotive Technologist, AI Programmer, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Specialist, and Grassroot Coaches. Still open for registration, interested participants can refer to perantisiskandar.my for details. Apprentices will enjoy more upskilling programmes in the future that will include industries under AR/VR, Creative, Digital Service Consultant, Hospitality, Integrated Circuit (IC) Design and Sports Coaching.
For your convenience, a one-stop centre for information on EduCity can be viewed at https://linktr.ee/educityofficial
