Boosting Skills Training Through International Competition

By NURUL HALAWATI AZHARI PUTRAJAYA, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- Many efforts have been taken over the years to boost skills based training in Malaysia and one of them is by sending youths to the World Skills Competition (WSC). Malaysia's participation in WSC, a biennial event, goes back to 1993 and is seen as an important platform to show the capabilities of youths who have undergone skills based training. The competition also provides international exposure for trainees and underscores the importance of skills based training, something that young Malaysians have taken for granted. This year 14 Malaysians participated in WSC from 2-6 July in Leipzig, Germany, noted the director of Skills Development at the Ministry of Human Resources Dr Pang Chau Leong. Pang said skills based training has yet to catch up in Malaysia unlike in countries like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan where people are serious in acquiring skills. And their seriousness in skills is evident as the WSC2013 winners list was dominated by participants from the same three countries. "They have really made use of WSC to transform themselves from a low skilled nation to a high skilled one within 20 years," explained Pang. 2013, THE BEST OUTING AT WSC The Malaysian participants at WSC, previously known as International Youth Skills Olympics, were chosen among the winners of ASEAN Skills Competition (ASC) 2012 and the Malaysian Skills Competition 2012. "Though we have not won anything at WSC so far, Malaysia's participation and achievements at the event helped to benchmark the skills based training adopted by Malaysia. According to Pang, after participating at WSC 11 times, WSC2013 seems to be the best outing with nine out of the 14 participants returning with Medallion for Excellence. And the improved outcome is very much due to the 'Road To Leipzig Gold 2013' programme launched in July 2011 with the selected participants undergoing intensive preparation with the cooperation of public and private agencies. "To provide them with exposure, they have been sent to skills competition in Australia and Singapore," explained Pang, adding that it is not about winning medals but more towards helping to change the public perception on skills training. In the bigger picture, it goes to show our skills trainees could compete at the international level. A BIG RESPONSIBILITY TO SHOULDER As for 21-year-old Oii Chian Jen from Langkawi off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia who participated in the restaurant services segment, it never crossed his mind that he would be given the opportunity to represent the country at WSC. After undergoing the preparations, only then Oii realised of the big responsibility that he and teammates have to shoulder. "The biggest challenge is entertaining customers. In this field there is no such thing as this is right and this is wrong. It is all about 'yes' or 'no'. "This is where our ability to entertain the guests is put to test, how we are going to communicate effectively with them. Though I'm ready to entertain any customer, I'm well aware that some customers are difficult to please," said this Langkawi Community College certificate holder. Oii is now planning to continue his studies in the hotel line at a polytechnic or private college. Meanwhile, Nik Mohd Fakhrul Razi Nik Ahmad Kamil, 22, who learned electrical installation skills at the Institut Perindustrian (ILP) Kuala Terengganu in peninsular northeast Terengganu state shared his experience on the competition. Nik said at the competition he was worried over the tools provided by the organisers. "On the first day of the competition, I was taken aback after looking at the tools that I had never seen or used before. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. But with the encouraging words of the team leader and team members, I went ahead with the competition," he said. Nik is proud of the fact that he has come this far and feels that Malaysians are now taking skills seriously. "The skills go beyond the certificate, it is useful in life. We are the one who should be more creative to emerge as the best among the best," explained Nik who is now a part time employee with ILP Terengganu. While preparing for the competition in Lipzig, Nik also tutored two youths for the WSC2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. -- BERNAMA