| James Kon |
YANG Berhormat Iswandy bin Ahmad called on the youth to work together for improving the country’s scores in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and for achieving Brunei Vision 2035.
The Legislative Council (LegCo) member was delivering his keynote address as guest of honour at the Industry Engagement Forum organised by Politeknik Brunei (PB).
Themed ‘Global Skills: Opportunities for a Better Future’, the forum was held at the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and attended by students from PB and UBD as well as other higher education institutions.
Yang Berhormat Iswandy said that projects and initiatives to help achieve the goals should be planned.
“Whatever career we will be in, be it banking, business, public service, ICT, science, engineering, or education, we should have the intention of working to benefit our family, our nation and our community. Being marketable or employable is not just about receiving that salary, but also about making a difference,” he said.
He cited the titah delivered 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 during Universiti Teknologi Brunei’s Sixth Convocation this year in which His Majesty noted the important role technology plays in this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), both in how we live and how we work.
The transition into this new technological era has also been brought up by LegCo members during the 14th LegCo session this year, during which they called on the nation to embrace the 4IR, Yang Berhormat Iswandy said.
On the SDGs, the LegCo member said, “In September 2015, world leaders committed to the SDGs – 17 goals to achieve three extraordinary things by 2030: End extreme poverty; fight inequality and injustice; and tackle climate change.
“Our young people can do their part to help Brunei achieve its SDG goals and Vision 2035. According to the Brunei National Youth Policy, the definition of youth is those aged 15 to 40 years, and statistics from the Department of Economic Planning and Development in 2015 showed there are about 184,600 in that category or about 44 per cent of the whole population in Brunei Darussalam,” he added.
“That is a lot of young people to help develop the nation and move it towards achieving Vision 2035.”
Also present at the event were Director of PB Denis Ho Mun Tai and Assistant Director of PB Alias bin Haji Abu Bakar.
In his welcoming remarks, Denis Ho said, “One of the key strategic initiatives of PB’s five-year development plan for 2015-2020 is to promote global education. PB recognises the importance of providing education that places emphasis on global skills, positive universal values, fostering tolerance, and understanding and promoting mutually beneficial international relationships.
“Therefore, PB has initiated programmes aimed at producing graduates who possess 21st Century global skills and knowledge that can help our nation to compete on the global stage.”
Among the panellists for the open forum which discussed current trends in the employment market were Dayangku Hajah Siti Normardinah binti Pengiran Haji Omarali from DARe (Darussalam Enterprise); Head of Government Relations and Special Projects at the Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Haji Mohammad Yusri bin Haji Wahsalfelah; Head of learning and Development at the Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd (BSP) Yap Sin Fah; and Head of the Division for Livestock, Industry and Veterinary Services at the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood Dr Diana Dennis.