Ramona (seated centre) together with Dr Wasitah, on her left, and Lamat, pose for a group photo with students and staff of IKBN Miri at the 12th IKBN Miri convocation ceremony.
MIRI: The Youth and Sports Ministry Training Institution (ILKBS) marked a milestone recently after 40 of its students qualified to compete in the final round of WorldSkills Malaysia Belia (WSMB) this coming October.
Youth and Sports Ministry deputy secretary-general (Strategic) Ramona Mohd Razali said they were chosen from among 200 students from 21 institutes under ILKBS, including the National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) Miri.
“This is the highest number ever achieved by ILKBS compared to previous years.
“It is even more exciting as six of them are students of IKBN Miri, the institute that produced the most participants to the final round of WSMB this time. All six will compete in the field of Restaurant Service and Cooking at the WSMB final,” she said when officiating at the 12th IKBN Miri convocation recently.
Ramona further disclosed that five IKBN Miri students have also qualified for the final round of WorldSkills Malaysia Sarawak 2019 in the field of Automobile Technology, Restaurant Service and Cooking.
“Well done and congratulations to the students and I hope IKBN Miri in particular will be able to produce more participants for upcoming skills competitions at national and international levels.
“This clearly shows that KBS (Youth and Sports Ministry) is moving forward with the diversification of TVET (technical and vocational education and training) delivery methods while ensuring that every youth has the skills to improve their living standards through intensive training in collaboration with agencies such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Malaysian Prisons Department and industry at various levels,” she pointed out.
According to Ramona, this year, KBS has introduced a special programme called MyFuture Youth Plus under the Skills Training at Risk @ Youth to reach out to at-risk youths.
The programme allows youths without Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia certificates to sign up for skills training at ILKBS.
“To date, we have provided training to 700 youths through the MyFuture Youth Plus programme.
“Of these, IKBN Miri alone has trained 50 participants for five courses, namely bead stitching, vehicle service basics, cake making, hair cutting, and makeup.
“I am very proud of the commitment and support given by the people of Miri, especially women, as 70 per cent of the participants are women. It is my hope that these participants will use the knowledge provided by IKBN Miri to either work in the field of entrepreneurship or further develop their knowledge to pursue their respective career,” she added.
Ramona pointed out that the ministry has been and is taking various initiatives through the 2017-2020 ILKBS Transformation Empowerment Programme towards enhancing the marketability of its graduates.
One of the approaches taken by IKBN Miri is to make the institute as one of the accredited centres recognised by the American Welding Society (AWS) Certificate Recognition Centre – the only institute in Sarawak to receive such recognition.
“This certification has opened the door for key industry players in Sarawak in particular and Malaysia to come up with strategic partnerships with IKBN Miri.
“It is the highest recognition for IKBN Miri in its quest to produce more quality students and thus increase student marketability among the major industry players, particularly those related to the oil and gas industry in Sarawak,” she added.
Youth Skills Development Section director Dr Wasitah Mohd Yusof and IKBN Miri director Lamat Nyalau were among those present at the ceremony.
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