Mokhtar and Goh are in charge of the EPIP and YES programmes.
GETTING the buy-in of the younger generation to work in the timber industry has often been difficult due to its 3D – dirty, dangerous and demeaning – stigma, but there is a gradual shift in such perceptions.
Through programmes such as the Engineer Placement and Internship in Timber Industry Programme (EPIP) and the Young Entrepreneur Society (YES), the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) is encouraging the adoption of technology and the increased participation of knowledge workers and younger talents to breathe new life into the timber industry.
EPIP
Aside from being a rallying call to ensure human capital readiness to drive digitalisation and automation in the industry towards IR4.0, the inaugural EPIP launched in March 2021 has become a platform to approach the young generation in changing their perception of the timber industry.
A first for the industry, the programme is a collaboration with higher education institutions (HEIs) and the Malaysian timber associations, with the aim of enabling small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and non-SMEs to employ professional technical personnel to develop their careers in the timber industry.
It is a one-year programme for engineers to receive on-the-job training under the guidance of a professional, as well as undergraduates who are doing their industrial training. Under the programme, MTC will absorb the training cost, as well as the monthly allowances for engineers and interns.
“Although the timber industry is stuck with the 3D stigma, there has been positive change as 282 engineers applied to be a part of EPIP,” said MTC industry development division senior manager Adeline Goh.
From the timber industry, 49 companies have applied for EPIP 2021, in addition to nine companies booking engineers for the programme’s second intake.
She added, “The need for engineers is becoming more crucial as timber-based manufacturers remodel their operations towards digitalisation and smart manufacturing, primarily due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses.”
Moreover, there has been good response from HEIs, as MTC has signed memorandums of understanding with eight universities and the Education Ministry’s polytechnic education and community college department thus far.
Moving forward, the plan is to actively reach out to the industry and increase networking with training providers and HEIs for possible collaborations, including to expand the programme to diploma holders, other community colleges and on-the-job training.
The main focus would be to identify the needs and pain points of timber companies through greater engagement efforts. This is in order to gain better understanding of the company’s requirements before selecting engineers in the appropriate disciplines, Goh explained.
YES
Aside from bringing the younger generation into the timber industry, another prevailing challenge for companies is business continuity and succession planning – especially in family-run companies.
Addressing those concerns is the YES programme, which is dedicated to assisting founders and successors through leadership transition and development, said MTC industry development division director Mokhtar Mohd Yaacob.
The programme aims to build competent, knowledgeable and successful leaders in the business management aspects, as one of the efforts to ensure the industry’s sustainability.
There are two parts of the programme, namely the 12-month Leadership Transition Programme for founders and the 18-month Leadership Development Programme for successors, with MTC sponsoring 70% of the training fee for each participant.
The inaugural programme sees founders participating from August 2021 to July 2022, while successors participate from June 2021 to November 2022.
“Members meet monthly in sessions to exchange experiences, ideas, opinions, problems and opportunities, with the aim of providing each other with direct and honest feedback on vital management issues.
“They receive valuable insights on major decisions before they make them, thus reducing much of the risk and uncertainty,” he said, adding that each group is facilitated by a highly trained business professional called the chair, who also meets with each member in one-on-one sessions for two hours per month to focus on individual issues.
Aside from gaining better understanding and networking opportunities among members within the various sectors of the timber industry, with external business experts to give a fresh perspective and new ideas, Mokhtar shared that the programme also provides access to a global community of more than 23,000 members for best practices and benchmarking measures, via the interactive My Vistage platform.
Among the learnings that will be implemented in the module over the next six months would be to maintain a small group size of 12 to 16 members with no conflicts of interests, via a physical or hybrid approach to ensure better engagement, he said.
He added that moving forward, the focus would also be on canvassing for more members and evaluating the programme once its full cycle is complete.
An industry representative who has participated in the YES Leadership Development Programme, Pine Horizon Sdn Bhd operations vice president Lim Yi Syuen shared, “My participation in the programme enabled me to connect with the next generation of industry captains across the entire supply chain of the timber trade.
“This platform pioneered by MTC and facilitated by Vistage guides the next-in-line of the organisation to bring the company to greater heights.”
The programmes are among MTC’s efforts to drive the timber industry’s sustainable growth, as part of its five-year roadmap. Another recent MTC initiative to recognise the contributions and progress of timber companies is the MTC Malaysian Timber Industry Awards 2022, which is now open for applications until Nov 30.
Scan the QR code for more information on the awards programme.