KUALA LIPIS, PAHANG, 22 JUNE 2013 : In its second year running, the empower ECER Lipis programme undertaken by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) has proven its effectiveness as reflected by the 100% passes obtained by all 120 participants of its Academic Training participants in the 2012 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), with 19 of them getting 5A’s and above.
Meanwhile, 300 participants of empower ECER Lipis Skills and Entrepreneurship Training have also shown impressive achievement in terms of their employability and higher level of monthly income received after joining the programme, with two of them now becoming successful entrepreneurs earning more than RM10,000 per month.
The achievements of these empower ECER Lipis participants were celebrated during a convocation ceremony held at Dewan Residen, Kuala Lipis, Pahang here today. The programme participants received their certificates from Y.B Dato’ Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Mohamed, Member of Lipis Parliament.
“Since its inception in March 2011, empower ECER Lipis has shown encouraging results in terms of academic achievement and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs,” said Dato’ Jebasingam Issace John, Chief Executive Officer of ECERDC.
“We are delighted by the participation and success levels achieved by empower ECER Lipis. This achievement is in line with the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) which aims to create a high-income society in the country,” he added.
Of the 19 participants from Academic Training programme who obtained 5A’s and above in last year’s SPM, Tan Shun Thine from SMK Benta was selected as the best student among empower ECER participants from the Lipis district. She scored 11A’s in the SPM exam and was one of the selected students from rural and remote areas who attended the remedial and motivational classes under empower ECER’s Academic Training Programme. The training programme involved students from SMK Orang Kaya Haji, SMK Benta and SMK Padang Tengku in Lipis.
Puan Fazlinawati bt Abdul who owns a frozen food shop and Encik Mohd Hafizul bin Mohd Yusof who runs a telecommunication shop were two exemplary participants of empower ECER’s Skills and Entrepreneurship Training programme whose achievements were recognised by ECERDC at the event. Thanks to the skills learned under the programme, coupled with their own commitment and hardwork, both of them are now earning more than RM10,000 a month.
The Skills and Entrepreneurship Training participants of empower ECER Lipis completed a 10-month programme in various courses such as cake baking, sewing, bridal, Masakan 1Malaysia, wiring & plumbing, ICT, hawker management, front desk management and mobile phone repair. Single mothers and youths were among those who successfully completed the Skills and Entrepreneurship Training programme for 2012.
empower ECER Lipis involves 900 participants consisting of 400 students for Academic Training and 500 youth and adults for Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for year 2012.
empower ECER is a twin-pronged human capital development initiative of ECERDC which focuses on Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for adults and Academic Training for examination-year students in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER).
The Academic Training programme involves remedial classes and motivational sessions. They are taught learning techniques such as effective note-taking, mind-mapping and speed reading, among others, to enhance their academic performance while helping the students develop their soft and social skills.
The Skills and Entrepreneurship Training programme offers courses that reflect the needs of the job market as well as that of the community.
The empower ECER programme was introduced in Pahang in 2010, starting with Bentong and followed by Lipis and Temerloh in 2011. In 2012, three more locations were added to the empower ECER programme namely, Raub, Cameron Highlands and Kuala Pahang. There are currently 7,381 Academic Training participants and 4,325 Skills and Entrepreneurship participants in Pahang under the empower ECER programme.