Training Programme To Prepare Unemployed Graduates For Automotive Industry
Are you an unemployed graduate and are you looking for work? Well, just so you know, there’s a training programme for graduates between 22 and 30 years old, who are either unemployed or in-between jobs, to prepare you for the automotive industry even if you have no prior knowledge, experience or confidence in this field. Do also bear in mind that the automotive industry doesn’t just need people to design and build cars; it needs human resource management, sales staff, warehousing and logistics, accounting, etc. And the work isn’t just available at the car company; they also rely on various vendors, suppliers and dealers.
A closely knit group of industry experts have initiated the Unemployed Graduate Training Programme and will be volunteering 6 man-days of their time and experience to help enhance employment opportunities for selected graduates who wish to join the Malaysian automotive industry.
With this programme, they hope to help match job opportunities in retail operations, customer relationship management, marketing and sales, parts & service as well as finance.
“It’s startling to read that 25% of the 200, 000 yearly graduates are still unemployed after 6 months. On the flip side, the industry craves for quality talent; particularly for graduates with some basic knowledge of the motor industry or work experience to join their team. Unfortunately many companies have trimmed their Executive/Management Trainee development programs in today’s soft economic conditions and instead prefer to poach executives from competitors” shared Devindran Ramanathan, founder of ACS AsiaPac,
an automotive training and consulting company and who initiated this programme.
“We have a great network of industrial luminaries who have agreed to step forward and to lend their time and expertise to champion this program. We will help selected participants identify their unique strength and explore hidden talents to embark on a career in the industry” added Devindran.
Experts and representatives from OEM partner organizations and automotive stakeholders Datuk Aishah, President of Malaysian Automotive President (MAA); Tony Savarimuthu CEO of brand consultancy agency Merdeka LHS; Wong Mei Inn, Country head of eBay Malaysia; and Datuk Thavalingam, Employment Law expert are some of the guest trainers and facilitators who will be contributing their time to this programme.
The program is planned to run over 3 alternate weekends a month (both Saturday & Sunday, 9am – 4pm) over 2 months in August and September (6-7 August, 20-21 August and 3-4 September).
“Our focus is for this group to be aware of the career opportunities which lie in the retail motor industry and the skills which employers demand. We aim to improve the graduate’s employ-ability in the automotive, transport, equipment sectors If they have that entrepreneurial spirit within them, we hope this program will inspire them to achieve their dream should they even want to start their own business ”, Devindran added.
The inaugural program size is limited to 25 participants and the program’s goal is that at least 50% of them will find suitable employment in the automotive industry within 3 months of completion.
The team will also help secure relevant work experience in some of the prospective organizations which have indicated a desire to participate. “Too many graduates completely underestimate the effort and complexity required to arrive at a job they love or a career which really truly matters to them. The program is designed to close these gaps” said Charles Lim, an associate consultant of ACS AsiaPac and a subject matter expert on inventory management.
Interested participants are encouraged to download the programme brochure and registration form from www.acsasiapac.com. The first programme is limited to 25 selected applicants and registration closes on 15 July 2016.
The programme will be held in the Klang Valley (venue to be confirmed later) and a minimal fee of RM200 is charged to cover the venue and meals costs.
