MICROSOFT IT ACADEMY PROGRAM TO AID GOVERNMENT IN DEVELOPING A HIGHLY EMPLOYABLE WORKFORCE FOR MALAYSIA

Microsoft continues partnership with Ministry of Higher Education to extend skills and certification benefits to IPTA students

Kuala Lumpur, July 31, 2008 – As part of its continued effort to bring the advantages of technology to students nationwide, Microsoft Malaysia, in partnership with the government, today activated the full benefits of the Microsoft IT Academy Program to 22 institutions of higher learning in the country. The program is aimed at enhancing the employability and relevance of graduating students for the future workforce through learning applicable IT skills and obtaining world-recognized industry certification that the market demands for.

To encourage and sustain the continued creation of intellectual capital resource for Malaysia, the Microsoft IT Academy Program is designed to aid the participating 20 Public Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTAs) and 2 polytechnics to become self-sufficient in implementing the program internally. This means that each educational institute will be equipped to continuously extend the benefits of technology – including skills training, learning resources, curriculum and certification – to its students.

Present to witness and officiate the activation ceremony, Minister of Higher Education Y.B Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin highlighted that the government has a goal to produce competent graduates to fulfill both national and international manpower needs with 75% of the graduates employed in their relevant fields within six months of their graduation. This highlights the need to ensure that Malaysian graduates are ready and well-equipped for the workplace, which is a key priority for the government.

“I believe that our partnership with Microsoft Malaysia for the Microsoft IT Academy Program will enhance the ability of our public institutions of higher learning to produce a knowledge workforce ready for the innovation economy. We want our students to have the skills, knowledge and resources they need to transform Malaysia into a knowledge-based economy and a key catalyst for this transformation is technology,” said the minister.

Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia shared that “the Microsoft IT Academy Program is Microsoft’s on-going commitment to collaborate with government and industry to gain access to the technology tools, skills and innovation that enables individuals to realize their full potential. We are very excited about this program because not only does it focus on the importance and progress of IT in the higher education sphere but also emphasizes that the development of IT-competent students contributes to human capital development in the country.”

The Microsoft IT Academy Program works to offer top-quality education programs on Microsoft technologies in order to help students reach their academic and career potential. The program provides IPTAs with:
· Microsoft Curriculum
World-class technology curriculum to help students acquire cutting-edge, job-relevant skills
· Complete instructional resources
Rich online learning resources with easy accessibility for both student hands-on leaning and for instructor professional development
· Skills Training
Link academic learning to real-world job skills to help students graduate with the IT skills needed to become successful in today’s job market
· Microsoft Certification
Create a skilled workforce for employers so that applicants with the right IT education and skills are available in the workforce

According to Prof Dr Hj Shahrin bin Hj Sahib, Chairman of the ICT Dean’s Council, who was present on behalf of the educational institutions, a large benefit of the Microsoft IT Academy Program is the resultant Microsoft certification that the students can graduate with.

He said “Based on the Asia's IT Employment Trends 2007/2008 survey by ZDNet, opportunities still abound for IT professionals in the country with IT salaries on the rise, as much as a 20% increase this year. It states that higher salaries are attributed to more IT employees having been certified professionals. Therefore, with these certificates resultant from the program, students will not only acquire the IT skills for select jobs but would have their pick of higher paying positions. This creates awareness on the importance of adopting industry based certifications that meet the growing needs and demands of the workforce.”

Yasmin added that, “ICT skills are a key vehicle for employability and job creation in a competitive global workplace. The Microsoft IT Academy Program is a comprehensive technology education program that builds a highly-skilled and employable workforce. It will give Malaysian graduates a set of skills and certification that is recognized worldwide. Students with technology proficiency and Microsoft certification will increase their employability when they join the workforce, especially in the rapidly-changing 21st Century workforce.”

Prof Shahrin shared that “apart from the student perspective, participating in the Microsoft IT Academy Program also presents many benefits for our institutions. For one, becoming a Microsoft IT Academy enhances the relevance, quality and therefore, competitiveness of the existing information technology curriculum in our institutions.”

While the Microsoft IT Academy Program membership is available at two levels - the Essential level and the Advanced level - the 22 institutions of higher learning have signed on for the Advanced level membership. At the Advanced level, the courses are designed for students on an IT career path, working towards enhancing their Microsoft Office expertise as well as other IT skills for desktop support roles, use of operating systems and servers as well as developer products.