Job training under protege
duopharma Biotech provides on-the-job training under Protégé.
THE Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs programme (Protégé) under the Entrepreneur Development Ministry emphasises on entrepreneurial and marketability training to create more competitive and ready job marketers as well as skilled job seekers to meet current industry needs.
Previously known as Skim Latihan 1Malaysia (SL1M), the programme is a rebrand to help youths enhance their employability by giving them the opportunity to gain appropriate working experience as well as empowering them with entrepreneurship skills.
The programme, which involves collaborations with industry experts, is open to students, school leavers right up to degree graduates and above.
One of the programmes under Protégé is career training, whereby participants will be placed in private companies or government-linked companies for eight to 12 months.
Additionally, Protégé has a new entrepreneurship programme – collaborating with relevant agencies under the Ministry to prepare participants to become entrepreneurs.
Working towards the Ministry’s aspirations, Protégé has collaborated with 13 public universities as strategic partners along with relevant agencies under the Ministry.
Training programmes by participating agencies under the Ministry will be promoted to the public, especially graduates, through the Protégé Reach-Out and Awareness programme.
Those who wish to know more about Protégé can visit the various career fairs to be held by selected public universities from now until May.
Protégé will also be organising large-scale entrepreneurship programmes at public institutions of higher learning in September.
Duopharma Biotech Bhd is among the participating companies which is committed to provide on-the-job training placements for graduates under Protégé.
In 2018, Duopharma Biotech trained 64 participants, of which 14 was offered employment in the company while seven are awaiting approval and 12 have accepted employment offers from other companies.
“As our strategic partner, I commend Duopharma for their exemplary commitment to providing opportunities to graduates to undergo a more intensive on-thejob training.
“Protégé is not just open to graduates, but also those from the low-income group and the rural areas including those who seek out entrepreneurship training,” said Ministry secretary-general Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi at the Protégé-Duopharma Biotech Bhd closing ceremony.
Present at the event were Protégé secretariat head Norashikin Ismail and Duopharma Biotech Bhd group managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar.
“It is our responsibility to ensure the young talents are ready to join the country’s workforce today,” said Leonard Ariff.
“Hence, we always strive to expose our trainees with real job situations which will ultimately add value to their career journey.
“For instance, we place them in critical business sections, such as manufacturing, research and development, sales and marketing and management under our supervision.”
Protégé urged all small and medium enterprise (SME) companies, start-ups and multinational companies, aside from private companies and government-linked companies, to come together to groom talents for continued professional growth and elevate entrepreneurship development to help reduce unemployment within society, especially youths.