| Abdul Hakiim Yakof |
A MEMORANDUM of Understanding (MoU) signing between the Youth Development Centre (PPB) and Telekom Brunei Berhad Sdn Bhd (TelBru) for the Apprenticeship Training Scheme for the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) Course, was held yesterday at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club, Jerudong.
Present as the guest of honour was Haji Amer Hamzah bin Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Zakaria, Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
The MoU was signed by Haji Rosmadee bin Haji Mohd Daud, Acting Director of Youth and Sports Development, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, representing the PPB, and David Kay, CEO of TelBru Sdn Bhd.
In his speech, David Kay said, “Today’s signing is very important for us because it complements other collaborations that we already have with various institutions of learning in the country. All these collaborations mean that we can look up to these institutions to find suitably skilled and trained people at various levels especially those with telecoms-related skills and knowledge.
“A successful fibre-optic network installation requires specialised, trained and competent installers and there is a shortage of such people with those skills. At TelBru, we have been addressing this issue by upgrading the skills of our technicians to be in line with the fibre optic technology because most of them were skilled in maintaining and operating the copper wire network. Our vendors have been complementing our efforts by bringing in skilled workers to carry out the installation works.
The guest of honour Haji Amer Hamzah bin Pehin Orang Kaya Amar Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Zakaria (front row centre), Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in a group photo along with the 16 participants of the FTTH Course – ABDUL HAKIIM YAKOF
“Given the growing number of people residing in new semi urban areas in the country with many subscribers remaining unconnected to high speed broadband service, deploying fibre to these areas is challenging on many fronts, including lack of skilled manpower. I am happy to note that the Youth Development Centre has initiated a short course on fibre installation with the first batch of 16 having completed their three month training in which TelBru personnel were involved in assessing them.
“This training is timely and appropriate as we continue to deploy fiber nationwide in the coming years.
“To date we have connected more than 37,000 homes and businesses with high speed broadband service and we aim to connect 45,000 by the first quarter of next year. This number will rise in the years ahead and we need more people to do the installation work.
“With the MoU signed, I hope we can work closely with the Youth Development Centre to implement suitable courses that meet our industry requirements. We look forward to a more productive collaboration.”
The FTTH Course was carried out at PPB as a pilot project to give knowledge and skill training on FTTH to the country’s youth. The course was held for three months from October 2015 to January 2016. The course was divided into two parts which was a month of intensive in-house training at PPB and two months of industrial attachment at TelBru Sdn Bhd.
Sixteen youth were chosen to take part in the course and they have undergone several selection processes carried out by PPB with Mobitech Solution as the consultant to ensure the youth are truly interested and committed to join the course.
The course aims to produce youth who are skilled and eligible for jobs, especially youth who do not have formal education in industries that have high market price. In addition, the youth will be more independent, knowledgeable, and disciplined and they will be ready for the private and public sector field.
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