Widening horizon amongst young graduates to determine their career path
Kota Kinabalu, 11 August 2014 – The World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation (WIEF) through its WIEF Education Trust (WET) in partnership with NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) organised the Young Graduates Entrepreneurship Course – a programme which aims to offer hands-on training to help young graduates to have a better idea to venture into business and entrepreneurship industries in the future.
The course is to educate the participants on how to comprehend the development in the national and global economies as well as to enable them to identify the great opportunities that they will obtain in the business and entrepreneurship industry.
“We believe this course is a good opportunity for young graduates to choose their career path as well as to make informed decision upon graduating. This is a good start to encourage them to think out of the box as most of the young graduates nowadays prefer to be working at the public sector industries such as health or manufacturing. We should encourage them to think that through entrepreneurship is an alternative to a better future,” said the Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs, Sabah, Y.B. Datuk Hajjah Jainab Datuk Seri Panglima Ahmad Ayid, who had launched the opening ceremony of the Young Graduates Entrepreneurship Course.
The 5-day course comprises series of workshops. Amongst them are, ‘Understanding Globalisation and how it Impacts Small Business’ and ‘The Entrepreneurial Revolution – The New Generation of Young Entrepreneurs’. The participants will also be taken to a field trip including Jari-Jari Spa as well as the visit to SME Bank Factory Complex, Lok Kawi at Penampang. These visits were meant to help them familiarise and learn about the importance of the business plan and at the same time start planning how to embark and develop their financial matters for their businesses. Throughout the workshops and visits, they also got a chance to witness the first-hand experiences from successful people who were willing to share their advice, hope and thoughts on starting a business.
Meanwhile, Tan Sri Wan Dr. Mohd Zahid Mohd Noordin, Chairman of the WIEF Education Trust, said “Particularly in the modern industry, the future is looking bright for young and tech-savvy entrepreneurs looking to start their own business. Although it may seem risky for them to build a startup, but we believe this course would help them build confidence and equip them with the necessary skills to venture into the realm of entrepreneurship”.
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About the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation
The WIEF Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in Kuala Lumpur, organises the annual World Islamic Economic Forum, a world-class business platform showcasing business opportunities in the Muslim world. The Foundation also runs programmes under the WIEF Businesswomen Network (WBN), WIEF Young Leaders Network (WYN) and the WIEF Education Trust (WET) and the WIEF Roundtable Series, aimed at strengthening people partnership and knowledge exchange between Muslim and non-Muslim communities across the globe. Some of the Foundation’s initiatives include the roundtable discussions, leadership programmes, knowledge transfer and skill development workshops, business networking forums, internship and scholarship programmes, the Young Fellows Programme and the Marketplace of Creative Arts Festival (MOCAfest). For more information on the WIEF Foundation, please visit www.wief.org.
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About the WIEF Education Trust (WET)
The WIEF Education Trust (WET) was launched during the 2nd WIEF in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2006. The WET was established on the premise that education is the most important pillar in every society and that the fate and future of a community lies in the quality and availability of education for its people. The WET is aimed at garnering support and resources from the Muslim world to provide education opportunities to the people at large.
In order to help achieve its objectives, the WIEF-UiTM International Centre was set up in 2007 to undertake vocational training and capacity building programmes. H.E. Dr Ahmad Mohamad Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank delivered a Special Address in UiTM to commemorate the Centre’s Inaugural Ceremony in February 2008.
Since then, the WET has carried out the unique WIEF-UiTM Global Discourse Series that addresses topical issues relating to business and economics, as well as scientific and technological advancement crucial to the development in the Muslim world. This programme has gained increasing popularity with the public and private sectors as well as the academia, and also attracted local and international award winners and high caliber speakers to the discourse.
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About NAM Institute for Empowerment of Women (NIEW)
The Proposal to establish NAM Centre on Gender and Development was announced by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Malaysia in his Keynote Address at the First NAM Ministerial Meeting on the Advancement of Women held in 2005. To realise the vision, NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women (NIEW) was officially established on the 1st of July 2006 under the purview of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
NIEW has been organising programmes on training and capacity building for NAM Member Countries in critical areas which have been identified as crucial to the empowerment of women such as Women in Politics and Economy, Women in Education and ICT, Women in Health and Violence Against Women.
Amongst the objectives of this organisation are to increase the awareness of the public and obtain their commitment to facilitate the process of women’s empowerment; to increase the number of empowered women and to increase the commitment of the target groups, people who are involved and can contribute to the empowerment of women.
NIEW also conducts training courses and workshops in the areas of women and gender for the benefit of NAM Member Countries, organises luncheon talks and lecture series related to gender and women to government agencies, public organizations and NAM Member Countries to promote gender awareness as well as conducts international seminars and other programmes on current and pressing issues relating to gender and women of NAM Member Countries.
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For media enquiries, please contact:
Umi Nadirah Abdul Rahman | umi@wief.org | +6010 232 5884
Lina Rutchakneewan Liew | lina@wief.org | +6019 779 9237
Shabana Palpanaban | shabana@wief.org |+6012 375 4957