PETALING JAYA: Me.reka, the educational arm of Biji-biji Initiative, together with its partners, is working towards empowering the Malaysian talent pool to build resilient communities to take on an evolving digital job market.
Through this newly launched flagship programme, the Me.reka Digital Entrepreneur, they aim to nurture 10,000 individuals across Malaysia for the future of work.
The programme brings innovative educational experiences through a combination of transformative 21st-century content and career guidance over four weeks.
Programme participants will also be paired with simulated work opportunities to intimately understand the demands of the digital workforce, all to kickstart their careers in the gig economy. The application for the July Cohort is now open. Sign up now at http://www.mereka.my/digital-entrepreneur
Me.reka Programme Director, Ambika Sangaran, said the Me.reka Digital Entrepreneur programme is its most comprehensive digital upskilling and employment programme to date.
“We’ve curated it to be intensive and transformative, where participants will learn technical and soft skills that are vital in the 21st-century job market,” she said.
There are 500 scholarships available worth over RM640,000 for Malaysian youths from B40 communities, through Me.reka’s impact partners Hong Leong Foundation and MaGIC Penjana SIM Grant.
According to Quek Sue Yian, Executive Director of Hong Leong Foundation, what is attractive about this programme is its priority on providing real-world experience for the students and how it supports resilience in the young people which is much needed in the constantly shifting gig economy.
This is aligned to Hong Leong Foundation’s focus on skills and vocational training that upskills reskills or provides first-level entry skills through a combination of Technical, Digital, Character and Entrepreneurial training.
We hope this will provide more diversified career opportunities for the students, helping them cope with jobs of the future and meeting the needs of an ever-changing work culture that has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
“One of the five targeted impact areas through the SIM Grant programme is to increase Community Livelihood, through the provision of quality education, skill-based training and creating new income opportunities,” aid Amiruddin Abdul Shukot, Acting Chief Executive Officer from MaGIC.
“It is more vital than ever to ensure digital inclusion for everyone so that everyone has equal chances to participate in the digital economy. We are glad to see this programme being launched by Me.reka as part of the SIM Grant, that applies social innovation to harness the power of the digital economy and ultimately to uplift the livelihood of our communities”
The programme also brings together multiple partners from different sectors of the ecosystem, contextualising academia within industries. Upon completing the 4 weeks programme, the participants are channelled to Microsoft’s Global Skills Initiative to build continuous learning pathways through Linkedin Learning
Covid-19 has accelerated the need for upskilling and transformed the future of work for the Malaysian workforce. To help create inclusive socio-economic opportunities for the people, Microsoft Malaysia has launched its Bersama Malaysia initiative, which includes a commitment to upskilling one million Malaysians by December 2023.
“Our ongoing partnership with the Biji-biji initiative and their educational arm Me.reka is an extension of our commitment, as we continue to empower every Malaysian to thrive and succeed in the digital-first era,” said K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), the lead digital transformation agency of the nation, has been advocating and promoting digital freelancing as an alternative form of employment since 2016.
To date, a total of 10,200 participants have successfully completed MDEC’s latest programme, the GLOW Penjan (Global Online Workforce), consisting of unemployed graduates (69.5%), retrenched workers (19.4%) and workers facing a salary cut of more than 50% (11.1%t).
MDEC intends to grow the number of active Malaysian digital freelancers/entrepreneurs communities, with the aim to ultimately uplift their livelihood, and the communities surrounding them. The partnership with Me.reka is consistent with its aim to empower more Malaysians with skills to become successful digital freelancers/entrepreneurs.
