The added finance advantage
THE Global Employment Trends 2013 report shows that in addition to a shaky global economy, global unemployment rose by 4.2 million, or 5.9% in unemployment rate.
On a positive note, the same report also reveals that 42% of workers in developing countries have elevated their status to qualify as “middle-class”, indicating that the job market in this part of the world is more robust.
To safeguard your career path, prudence is necessary when choosing a tertiary education option. Within Malaysia, the financial services sector is worth looking into. By 2020, the sector is targeted to raise Malaysia’s Gross National Income (GNI) by a staggering RM121.5bil.
A winning combination
UCSI University’s Faculty of Business & Information Science (FOBIS) has carefully designed a range of programmes combining finance with traditional in-demand degree offerings.
Unique among private universities, its programmes are the BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science and Finance, BSc (Hons) Finance and Investment, BBA (Hons) Islamic Banking and Finance and the BA (Hons) Accounting and Finance.
“We hope to give our students an edge when they enter the working world as they will have knowledge of finance on top of the knowledge provided by the traditional degree,” explains FOBIS dean, Dr Toh Kian Kok.
“Our additional major in finance will also give our students mobility if they decide, upon entering the working world, to specialise in finance,” he added.
One of the most popular traditional degrees offered by FOBIS is the BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science. Career prospects for actuaries are expected to increase by 27% from 2010 to 2020 – the highest growth rate across all occupations – according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Domestically, the prospects are even greater given the country’s shortage of actuaries.
This is one of the main reasons Chan Min Zhuo decided to enrol in UCSI’s BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science programme. A recipient of one of the UCSI Trust Scholarships, he is one of the few local students who passed two of the five preliminary exams required while only in the first semester of his second year.
To strengthen the programme further, FOBIS recently launched the BSc (Hons) Actuarial Science and Finance degree programme, which offers the second option of a financial analysis-related career development.
“As a mathematician, I know that it will not do to focus too narrowly on pure mathematics. This is why we have incorporated finance into our traditional programme offerings,” revealed Department of Actuarial Science and Applied Statistics head Dr Ngerng Miang Hong.
For students with an inclination towards investment but still want to make the most of the robust financial services job markets, UCSI has also recently launched its BSc (Hons) Finance and Investment. This programme aims to produce graduates equipped with relevant and holistic knowledge of finance and investment.
All this is done to help students secure their career prospects in a time when both the economic and job markets are uncertain.
Dr Toh sums it up, “The global economy is changing. The field of finance has never been more important and our new offerings were designed to provide students with a professional and personal edge to help them excel.”
To find out more about UCSI University’s finance-related programmes, contact 03-9101 8882 or e-mail www.ucsiuniversity. edu.my/onlineenquiry. You can also drop by its Open Days on April 20 and 21 (9am-6pm). Scholarships are also available to deserving students via the UCSI University Trust.