THE ultimate aim of tertiary education is to act as a springboard for students towards building a career of their dreams. Acting as the foundation towards building the workforce of tomorrow, today’s education has to serve up more than just academic qualifications to encompass developing and nurturing soft skills as well as other necessary knowledge and skills to ensure their graduates are not just Career Ready but equally as important, Prepared For Life.
The CRP is a bespoke finishing school dedicated to also honing student’s life skills
To this end, Sunway Education Group has rolled out its Career Readiness Programme (CRP) at Sunway College and Sunway University to prepare students for their future careers starting from pre-university to graduate level.
The programme is catered to students’ needs to make it relevant and impactful with the aim of developing graduates who would be highly sought-after by employers, positive influencers in the community and equipped for all of life’s challenges and opportunities.
CRP Activities also include fine tuning our students with the skills and competencies necessary to propel them to a successful career.
The programme features talks, workshops, focus groups as well as a variety of events and activities to equip students with the skills and competencies necessary to help them launch a successful career upon graduation.
Designed with input from employers, results from surveys as well as consideration of skills in demand, the CRP aims to be a programme that bridges the gap between graduates and employers that enhances students’ overall potential, whilst preparing them with a series of Human to Human lifestyle skills that will ensure they grace any occasion and make the right first impression.
The programme is carried out in three levels:
Level One: Exploration
This level emphasises on communication skills, teambuilding and personnel management.
Some activities and talks conducted at this stage would include time and priority management, goal setting, financial planning and such.
Level Two: Experience
At this level, the focus is on professionalism and work ethics, leadership skills, EQ and career building skills.
The activities and talks at this level include running workshops and exposing students to interview skills and making good first impressions, practising professional and office etiquette, and learning how to be resourceful.
Level Three: Employment
At this stage, the emphasis is very much on supporting and facilitating students in securing their first employment or internship opportunity.
The focus is on three key competencies – critical thinking and problem solving, networking skills and ethics and values.
A lot of the events carried out under CRP are held in partnership with industry players. To further enhance its efficacy, the programme also runs a variety of assessment centres to give students a taste of the various styles and ways companies will assess them. To facilitate networking between students and the industry, opportunities are provided through company visits, career fair events and other recruitment initiatives.
It is essential to cover the element of ethics and values to shape students to be able to tackle these with good conscience and clarity of mind. To ensure they portray a positive image of themselves and the nation, students are also encouraged to adopt important personality qualities and character values, such as integrity, humility and excellence - the core values of the Sunway Group itself.
Sandra Khoo Hui Yong, Bachelor of Sciences (Hons) Psychology, 2019, currently working at the Star Media Group Berhad says, “The CRP has really helped me in two areas once I stepped into the working world. Firstly, it’s the soft skills and professional development that employers value, which really gave me a competitive edge as a fresh graduate. Secondly, it's the networking and connections that I've made with the speakers and facilitators. I will always be grateful to the team for putting so much effort into shaping students' employability.”
Shaun Lee Jia Xuan, Bachelor of Sciences (Hons) Accounting and Finance, 2021, currently working at KPMG Malaysia shares, “The CRP has enabled me to gain a forefront advantage in attaining essential industrial insights and enhancing my networking with experienced individuals from the corporate world – significant elements in supplementing my personal and career development. I am beyond grateful for all the exceptional events organised for us.”
Tee Joey, Bachelor of Business Analytics (Hons), 2022 comments, “Immensely well organised and insightful, the CRP enriched my university experience and prepared me with holistic talks, workshops, and company visits to enhance my future employability. Thank you to the team for preparing such wonderful events for us.”
Sabrina H Darwis, ACCA, Professional Accountancy, 2022 says, “CRP provided many valuable initiatives that have elaborated my understanding towards the skills I need to attend to and work on to be a great asset to potential future employers. I am thankful towards the guidance and exposure to the different skills that has shed a light on my professional growth.”
At Sunway Education Group, it is of paramount importance to the nation to ensure young leaders of the future are not just career ready but also prepared for life with a variety of vocational and soft skills that will underpin and shape their futures in the years to come.
“We want Sunway students to retain the competitive edge when they enter the working world with confidence, poise and well rounded individuals – ready to make a difference to the world,” says Career Services head Rose Devaraj.
