PENANG'S WALTA INVESTS RM10 MLN TO EXPAND CENTRE TO NURTURE TALENT IN TVET, STEM

BATU KAWAN, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- Walta Engineering Sdn Bhd (Walta) has invested RM10 million to expand its Walta Centre of Excellence (WCOE) to nurture talent in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The chief executive officer of Walta Centre of Excellence Moey Lip Seng said that to date, over 1,400 participants had attended corporate skills training at WCOE and over 110 TVET graduates had been produced in the area of industrial automation and precision machining.

Moey said as part of the expansion plan for TVET and STEM, WCOE is planning to build a new building adjacent to the current building.

"The new building will be used for TVET advance machining lab and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) ‘fab lab’ which is poised to contribute to building a healthy talent pipeline for the industries,"  he told reporters here today.

The STEM fab lab will act as a centre to coordinate, drive and sustain the STEM education initiative in Penang.

Earlier, Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow witnessed the agreement exchange ceremony between Walta and Penang Development Corporation (PDC)  for the 15-year lease agreement to develop a new building.

Chow said Penang is committed to deepening and broadening the talent pool through various STEM initiatives in order to meet the industry's growing demand while also attracting new strategic investments.

"Aside from nurturing TVET institutions such as WCOE, some of the ongoing initiatives include the Penang Internship Subsidy Programme (PISP) which offers wage subsidies to local companies on the hiring of interns.

"There is also the Penang Future Foundation, which provides scholarships for deserving students, affordable housing for knowledge workers, and ongoing engagements with industry players and institutions of higher learning to ensure talent readiness in the workplace," he said.

-- BERNAMA