| Azaraimy HH |
RENOVATION and construction works at the new Centre for Capacity Building, located at the former Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna Secondary School building site at Jalan 10, RPN Kampong Lambak Kanan, will soon be completed and the centre is expected to begin providing training in September 2017.
This was revealed by Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office in an interview with the Bulletin yesterday.
The centre, to be operated by the Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO), is a multi-programme skills-training institution aiming to produce job-ready graduates by aligning training with industrial development and requirements in Brunei Darussalam.
The institution strives to become the blueprint, model and leader in skills training to ensure a competent national workforce for the country.
The establishment of the centre was announced by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in a titah delivered on July 15, 2017 in conjunction with His Majesty’s 71st birthday celebrations.
The construction of the new building block, as well as the renovation and repair of the existing blocks at the old school site is being carried out.
The delivery of the centre’s training programmes is to be conducted by Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) based on approved syllabuses adapted from international training or leading industry institutions.
The programmes taught by the Centre for Capacity Building will allow jobseekers – even those from non-technical backgrounds – to be reskilled and to obtain key competencies required by the industry. Graduates of the centre will receive certifications recognized locally and, to a certain extent, internationally.
This will boost their employability in their areas of expertise in the private sector.
Jobseekers – regardless of academic background – who are citizens or permanent residents of Brunei Darussalam, medically and physically fit, and have completed schooling at least until Year 9 are eligible to enrol into the programme.
The curriculum of the programmes will be based on a 10 per cent classroom-based theory and 90 per cent practical skills training format.
The centre is expected to begin receiving its first intake of students in September 2017, with the following courses being offered: scaffolder, rigger, heavy vehicle driver, blaster painter, steelcraft, woodcraft, mason/plasterer, insulator and marker fitter/riveter.
The remaining courses – welder, instrument mechanic, electrical mechanic, mechanical fitter and other non-technical programmes such as hospitality and service-oriented programmes – are expected to be offered beginning December 2017.
The new infrastructure is meant to support optimal programme delivery and provide an authentic learning environment for the trainees.
The September 2017 intake will be taught at new facilities which are built at unused areas of the old Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna Secondary School premises – where earthworks filling has already began – instead of at refurbished existing building blocks.
This is to assure the public including parents of the trainees that the courses will be taught in a safe and secure environment.
The existing buildings will be rectified by an appointed structural engineer over the next four months. Only once the safety of the buildings has been certified by the relevant agencies at the Ministry of Development will they be used for the teaching of the courses.
In the meantime, the EIDPMO is working with the Ministry of Education in a cross-ministerial arrangement to allow some of these programmes to start at the campuses of the Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) while awaiting the Centre for Capacity Building’s completion.
As alluded to earlier, the centre’s courses will eventually expand to include non-technical programmes such as hospitality and service-oriented programmes, including training for shop assistants, receptionists, restaurant staff and more.
Curriculum development will be adjusted according to the programme requirements and relevant RTOs will be engaged to conduct the programmes.
The centre’s initial phase of operation will begin with the offering of construction programmes aligned to the demands of industry.
There are currently 2,836 conditional offers of employment available for local jobseekers to work in companies working on the Hengyi project in Pulau Muara Besar. The centre will allow up to 852 trainees for its first intake in September and December.
A further expansion of the centre’s intake capacity by January 2018 – as driven by industry demand – will allow for more locals to be eligible for the remaining conditional offers of employment in the Hengyi project together with other FDI and industry projects.
The centre is expected to produce at least 3,000 graduates from the initial 13 offered programmes by December 2018.
During the course of their attending the programmes, the centre’s trainees will be provided with a monthly training allowance of $300 (for trainees with qualifications of TVET and below), and $500 (for trainees with HND).
Upon successful completion of the programmes, graduates will be secured jobs and awarded a monthly salary top-up of $300 (for those with TVET and below) and $500 (for HND) for the next three years.
Degree-holder trainees, meanwhile, will be incorporated into the i-Ready programme. The government will continue to work with the relevant agencies to find ways to sustain the centre’s graduates beyond this three-year window.
Jobseekers are encouraged to access the online JobCentre Brunei portal at www.jobcentrebrunei.gov.bn, or visit JobCentre Brunei directly at KM8, Jalan Perindustrian Beribi for information on future job vacancies or to register for any available upskilling programmes.
For enquiries, contact the JobCentre Brunei hotline at 8239933.
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