(From left) Tacang, Goh and Rajkumar with their Master’s and Bachelor’s certificates.
FILIPINO Nestor Casalim Tacang, 50, began studying for his Master’s because it was the only way to get his homeschooled daughters to do their assignments.
If it had not been for both his daughters, he would not have thought of pursuing his studies.
“It helped lift their morale because whenever they saw me doing my assignments and studying, they would start doing their homework and study too,” said the father of a boy, 17, and two girls, 12 and nine.
The test development manager, who has been with Flex Penang for the past 15 years, said he was thankful to his employer for fully sponsoring his studies.
The company’s vision to cultivate a workplace that provides lifelong learning opportunities has given its employees the opportunity to upgrade their skills.
“It was sleepless nights and weekends for all of us as we used to have classes during workdays,” said Tacang.
“We used to miss classes, including those held online, because of important customer visits.
“However, these did not dissuade us from continuing our studies,” he said.
Tacang was among 157 Flex employees who obtained their Professional Master’s in Strategic Management and Leadership, Executive Bachelor’s in Manufacturing Management, Professional Certificate in Supervisory Management and Professional Certificate in Project Management during a special graduation ceremony at Dewan Budaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang.
Graduates and guests at the special graduation ceremony at USM, Penang, believed to be the largest so far for Flex employees.
Tacang received a Professional Master’s in Strategic Management and Leadership.
He was named the Best Student for the Master’s programme while C. Rajkumar and Goh Hui Koon were picked as the Best Students for the Executive Degree programme.
The graduation event is believed to be the largest so far for Flex employees in Penang.
In the last 10 years, Flex had fully sponsored more than 1,000 employees to further their education in collaboration with local colleges and universities.
Graduation programme coordinator D. Sanjeet Mohan, 44, who obtained his Master’s, said juggling work and studies required planning and time management.
The father of two said it was truly challenging to handle work tasks, meet deadlines, attend classes and fulfil his family responsibilities.
At the ceremony were USM Academic and International deputy vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Narimah Samat, Industry, Community Network and Institutional Sustainability deputy vice-chancellor Prof Dr Azlan Amran, Graduate School of Business dean Assoc Prof Dr Fathyah Hashim, Flex Penang vice-president P. Viswanathan, Flex Plant 5 operations and head of learning and development senior director A. Muniandy and Samudera Management Consultants Sdn Bhd principal consultant Mej (R) Dr J. Prebagaran among others.
In his speech, Viswanathan said, “It is Flex’s mission to make learning accessible and convenient for our employees and ensure that their experience is impactful.
He said the Flex Penang Learning and Development Centre, launched in January 2017, connected employees with educational and training programmes that helped them expand and refine their knowledge, skills and abilities.
He added that the partnerships and collaborations with various training consultants and institutions of higher education had successfully seen over 21 customised technical and non-technical courses being developed.
