Our First But Not Our Last GRADUAN® NEX!

#teamGRADUAN’s first career initiative dedicated to talent with disabilities took place last Thursday at the Chancellery building in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Bangi with more than 100 talent and 17 employers including Maybank, Intel, EY, KPMG, Shell, Samsung, Duopharma and many more present. The event is a platform to provide equal opportunities for talent with special abilities to kick start their careers, and was officiated by Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, Chairman of UKM, with support from the Ministry of Education.

The day’s agenda began with a training session led by experienced consultants from Compas, a Human Resource Development Fund (HDRF) registered training provider dedicated to developing human capital that focused on different aspects of the job market and helped prepare talent for the main event of the day that is the networking and interview sessions. Another highlight was the cheque presentation by representatives from Soroptomist International of Shah Alam to multiple universities including UKM to develop their disability services units.

Muhammad Farith, a Political Science graduate from International Islamic University Malaysia who was offered a job during the event, praised the event. “This initiative builds confidence among talent. Living with disabilities reduces the confidence of a talent but when there’s an event like this, where it’s specialised for us, we become more confident,” he said.

Chen Fong Tuan, Director of HR and General Affairs at Samsung Malaysia, was impressed with the talent he met and applauded the event. “All of the talent I met today were very capable and similar to you and me. Their life stories have so much more colour and texture, and if you give them a chance, there is every possibility that their life will change,” he said. He also urged other organisations to jump on the bandwagon and give Malaysians from all walks of life a chance.

Judging from the outcome of the event, #teamGRADUAN is eager to host our second instalment soon! So watch this space for more information or to keep up with the latest happenings with GRADUAN®, follow us on Instagram and Twitter @graduan or download the GRADUAN App for exclusive invites to GRADUAN® events.