The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SG Academy to enhance the talent development of team members and students, as well as help address the workforce shortage in the hospitality and business events sectors.
The partnership also aims to benefit students at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges by providing them professional exposure in an internationally recognised organisation. TVET students predominately come from B40 (Bottom 40%) communities, so it is hoped that this exposure will broaden their horizons and open up more opportunities for them.
Under the agreement, the Centre and SG Academy will collaborate in the areas of capacity building and talent development; permanent, part-time and temporary job opportunities for TVET students and graduates; and upskilling and reskilling of employees in the Malaysian hospitality and business events industries.
“The hospitality and business events sectors are facing a huge workforce shortage as Malaysia welcomes international events and tourists back to our shores. In the aftermath of COVID-19, we are dealing with a reduced supply chain, decreasing workforce and stiff competition locally and regionally. As such, this collaboration couldn’t be timelier for us as we look to attract fresh talent and grow our local talent pool,” the Centre’s Director of Human Resources, Muhammad Vickneswaran remarked.
“Since opening, we have made great strides in responding to the Malaysian Government’s call to nurture and develop the local talent pool. Being the People’s Centre, we are also extremely committed to being an inclusive venue that gives back to the community in which we operate. Ultimately, we want to ensure that we do not leave anybody behind as we continue to develop our products and services to cater to the highest international standards. This MOU is hopefully the first of many more to come and I look forward to seeing this partnership flourish to truly benefit our team members and TVET
students moving forward,” he added.
“We’re happy to be partnering with the Centre to help TVET graduates, many of whom come from the B40 community, to get on-the-job experience, enable employee upskilling and develop workplace learning opportunities. We view this partnership as a long-term collaboration and we are looking forward to working with the Centre, who have always been a leading example in employee engagement and student talent development initiatives. We’re very proud to be partnering with an organisation which puts their people first,” Chief Executive Officer, SG Akademi, Dato’ Sri Ganes Palaniapan said.
The MOU with SG Academy joins a number of other programmes designed by the Centre to nurture and develop local talent namely, the Ambassador Programme, which addressed the flexible staff shortage faced by the industry and even prompted a paradigm shift in talent management in Malaysia’s hospitality industry.
Other programmes initiated to-date include the Professional Development Programme (PDP), the Student Employment Programme (STEP), and Experiential Learning Programme (ELP).
Earlier in the year, the Centre also announced a RM2,500 minimum wage for its full-time team members, 40% more than the Government mandate, which came into effect on 1 May 2022. The Centre is currently actively recruiting part-timers to join its Ambassador Programme that provides a complimentary Basic Food Handler course, refresher training allowance, SOCSO and EPF contributions, flexible working schedule, uniform, duty meal, and night shift transport allowance.
