Speech by Chief Minister of Penang
At The Launching Of The Official Website Of The German Dual Vocational Training Programme
26 November 2015, Komtar, Penang
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for including the launch of the official website of the German Dual Vocational Training Programme in Penang into your busy schedules today. In particular, I am very pleased to see representatives of the participating local companies as well as representatives of the training provider, the Penang Skills and Development Centre (PSDC).
The GDVT programme is designed to bolster vocational training in Penang and to up-skill the local workforce with international recognized skills. Today’s launch of the GDVT website, penanggdvt.com, marks an important step to attract the programme to future apprentices.
This programme of an advanced diploma in vocational training is truly unique in Malaysia, because while working at the companies, trainees gain practical knowledge from their senior colleagues and theoretical knowledge at the training provider. Being recognised by the Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK), the GDVT programme is fully integrated into the Malaysian education system. Additionally to that, graduates are rewarded with a German Chamber certificate, which is recognised for its high quality not only in Germany, but also throughout the world.
So far, we have seven companies in Penang joining the programme. Namely: B. Braun, Carsem Malaysia, Dynacraft, Inari, OSRAM, Robert Bosch and Southern Steel. The GDVT introduces the best vocational training in the world to Penang and Malaysia, the secret behind German economic miracle.
Ladies and Gentlemen
The key feature of the programme is WORK, EARN AND LEARN. Apprentices are hired by their host companies and receive remuneration for their work. Theoretical and Classroom training will be held on weekends at the PSDC. Until now, no other programme in Malaysia offers this kind of training.
The State Penang Government supports this program with a RM2 million grant to sponsor between 500 – 600 students on their diploma fees and the agreement with PSDC was inked on 18th of September. We hope that this 42 months advanced diploma course will help to brand Penang’s work-force as world-class.
The words “Made in Germany” is identified as a seal for high quality products throughout the world, it is now our aim to establish “Trained in Penang” as a new benchmark for high quality training in Malaysia.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Through this website, prospective students in Penang and later throughout Malaysia can now apply online for this programme. After uploading your CV and personal details, this information will be distributed through PSDC to the participating companies. After this, the applicants will be assessed for potential employment. The programme has three intakes per year. Each intake is around 20 students but can go up to 30 students. They have 90 students maximum in one year.
As GDVT requires industry training to get 2,000 students participating, this essentially requires either existing employees to be trained and/or new recruits being hired into the companies. Therefore we need more programmes and more participating companies. Currently we only have 7 host companies and 1 programme.
We are also working with representatives from the industry (SAMENTA, FREPENCA, FMM, Chambers of Commerce) and PSDC to have more companies joining the GDVT programme. This website should introduce and raise the awareness of the GDVT programme to school leavers of local schools with interest in technical education.
I am pleased to encourage students and school leavers now, to apply for the second intake in November this year or following intakes next year.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me thank all participating companies again for making this programme possible in Penang. We are not only training new talent but also raising productivity. Hopefully this will help Penang to increase our productivity by more than the national average of 2 %. Let’s all work together and make “Trained in Penang” a seal for high quality and sustainable learning a reality.
Thank you.