UiTM students who attended the session
KOTA KINABALU: POIC Sabah is seeking to collaborate with learning and training institutions to meet the evolving manpower needs arising from investment inflow under the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMU) initiatives.
The state-owned company, responsible for the development of POIC Lahad Datu industrial park and POIC Port, said that instead manpower needs for future investors are expected to diversify and becoming more sophisticated.
“Investors are no longer looking just for production line workers but also manpower with the latest skills, and we need to be prepared to remain competitive as an investment destination,” said Lynette Hoo, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd.
Hoo was speaking after a visit to Unversiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sabah Campus here where she met with staffers led by its Deputy Rector Dr Sharifah Nurafizah Syed Annuar and gave a briefing on POIC Lahad Datu to about 90 graduating diploma students of UiTM’s Plantations and Agricultural Technology Faculty,
Among other things the two sides agreed to explore manpower and academia needs in such fields like logistics and oleochemicals industries which are sectors POIC Sabah are prioritising.
”And as we push towards using POIC Lahad Datu to anchor Sabah’s East coast as a regional logistics hub, developing a free zone, amalgamating regional resources for value-added manufacturing at POIC, quality manpower is vital,” she said.
As industrialisation grows and jobs are created, government-linked institutions such as POIC Sabah also desire that Sabahans benefit optimally by preparing them for the new and widening opportunities.
Aside from UiTM, POIC Sabah also has sights on the numerous training and research institutions including the Politeknik Kota Kinabalu, Institut Latihan Mara, Sabah Skills and Technology Centre.
Since its inception in 2005, POIC Sabah and companies in POIC Lahad Datu have regularly been accepting interns from various institutions of higher learning.
The SMJ development initiatives is a holistic plan to expedite Sabah’s development, including expanding the industry sector in order to enlarge its share in the state GDP.
