About 450 accounting students of Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TAR College) were all ears when Ms Andrea Chua, KPMG Executive Director – People, Performance & Culture spoke to them on the KPMG –TAR College Soft Skills Development Programme in the lecture hall of the main KL campus on 21st May 2010.
The KPMG –TAR College Soft Skills Development Programme is exclusively for the TAR College Accounting Advanced Diploma students. It is an initiative developed jointly by KPMG and TAR College with the objective of imparting good communication, leadership and relationship skills (commonly termed as “soft skills”) to help to mould students to be well–rounded and positive-minded individuals.
“Technical and technological skills are essential, but they’re not enough. Soft skills including the ability to present persuasively, writing well and team working are traits valued by employers,” said Ms Chua. She highlighted on the purpose of the programme and elaborated on the training modules which included personal paradigm and principle, personal leadership, effective teamwork and collaboration, motivation and working with EQ.
The students were also briefed on fee, the qualifying criteria and the completion of the application form which could be downloaded from the net. The selection criteria included good result in the SPM English, a Diploma CGPA of above 3.2, strong co- curriculum and passing the cubiks assessment. An estimated number of 40 students would be selected for the pioneer batch of this industry collaborative programme.
This programme is scheduled from 27th May 2010 to 11th June 2010. There will be materials for self-reading and a project work which is to be completed within a given time frame. There will be performance evaluations at the end of the training period and the presentation of certificate awards. The briefing ended with the distribution of a glossy bookmark with an eye-catching tagline “Best Educate Success Talent” that best summarized the training programme.
Mr. Chow Soon Kit, a student who was present at the briefing remarked: “I am keen to register for this programme as it is a good opportunity to acquire the desired soft skills. These will help me to be a better candidate during job interviews.” Another student, Mr. Ong Chee Hean added that the programme is interesting as the topics on communicative skills, motivation and interpersonal relationships are essentials in building a successful career.
TAR College continuously establishes industry links through collaborative partnerships to bring industry-relevant training skills to its students. Such initiatives are vital in helping to produce employment ready graduates who are much needed to contribute effectively to the various employment sectors.
