600 GRADUATES BENEFIT FROM TM’S CSR INITIATIVE

Some 600 unemployed graduates have benefited from Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s (TM) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in equipping the graduates with a good command of the English language as well as business and social skills relevant in today’s working environment.

TM in support of the Government’s call to tackle the poor command of English among the graduates in the country that is hampering their employment opportunities, embarked on a program called Certificate in Business English and Communication Skill or better known as CiBEC. The program is aimed at enhancing the competency of graduates in English to ensure that they become more marketable in the job market. It is held in collaboration with the Business Advanced Technology Center (BATC), the module developer for Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

This fully sponsored 4-week intensive residential program was conducted in 4 cohorts with each group comprising more than 100 students, while the final cohort consisted more than 200 students. It was open to all Malaysian unemployed graduates throughout the country and they were selected based on an initial writing test and Malaysian University English Test (MUET) results.

TM had allocated RM2 million to train 1000 unemployed graduates under this program. To date, some RM1.2 million have been spent in training the 600 graduates.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the fourth cohort at TM’s Multimedia College in Marang, Terengganu, Dato’ Abdul Wahid Omar, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM said: “We at TM understand the importance of the English Language as the business language in the global arena. Hence, we have taken a pro active step in assisting the Government to enhance the proficiency of the English language among unemployed graduates in the country, a necessity in today’s working environment.”

“These graduates are very bright and many of them obtained good grades in Universities. What was lacking was their ability to communicate effectively in English.”

“The focus of this program is not only on verbal, but also encompasses writing, speaking and listening skills of the English language in the workplace context. Besides that, the participants are also furnished with business, social and IT skills. The selection of module is carefully done to ensure that the subjects and activities also provide insights on management, leadership, team dynamics, business acumen and networking that are necessary at the workplace. In addition, they undergo pre and post program tests to evaluate their performance and attend mock job interviews,” added Dato’ Wahid.

To facilitate the graduates’ entry into the job market, TM also organised career talks by large multinationals, banks and Government agencies such as Nestle, MISC Berhad, UTM, Great Eastern among others. Of the 400 CiBEC graduates from the first to the third cohort held between April and September 2006, over 40% of them have since been gainfully employed.

TM, as a major corporate in Malaysia, has always viewed CSR as important and necessary. With a three-pronged CSR approach where education is one of the platforms, TM Group has been playing a major role in supporting the Government’s aspirations. The three-pronged approach adopted by TM is namely support for education, sports development, as well as community and nation building activities.

About TM
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), a leading regional information and communications group, offers a comprehensive range of communication services and solutions in fixed-line, mobile, data and broadband. 
As one of the largest listed companies on Bursa Malaysia with an operating revenue of more than RM13 billion, TM is driven to deliver value to its stakeholders in a highly competitive environment.

For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my.

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