THE Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), a leading global qualifications and professional association of vocational accountants with 130,000 members worldwide, recently announced a significant training collaboration with Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera (Yayasan Peneraju).
This initiative aims to develop and train Bumiputera talents by providing access to structured academic, vocational and professional certification programmes.
The training collaboration is a welcomed move towards closing Malaysia’s accountancy skill gap, as it seeks to provide vocational accountancy training and education to 500 underprivileged Bumiputera youths aged 18 – 23, who have not gained qualifications higher than Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
The programme will be funded by Yayasan Peneraju and will take place in multiple phases, with an initial intake of 100 Bumiputera students by the end of 2019, and the remaining 400 students to come throughout 2020.
Systems and Skills Training Concept (SSTC), one of AAT’s accredited training providers in Malaysia, will be managing and administering the programme.
With Malaysia’s ambitions to double its number of accountants to 60,000 by 2020 under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), an initiative launched by the Malaysian Government in 2010 to turn the country into a high-income economy by 2020, this partnership will help to add a significant number of future accountants to that goal.
The training programme, which is available to Bumiputera youths aged 18 – 23, will help to improve social mobility in Malaysia by imparting students with relevant financial skills and greater access to better employment opportunities.
The nine-month course will include vocational training culminating in AAT’s Advanced Diploma in Accounting qualification, but will also seek to impart additional soft skills to prepare them for the workplace.
AAT qualifications are recognised internationally and accredited in Malaysia.
Since the launch of AAT’s accounting qualifications in Malaysia in 2017, it has trained more than 160 Malaysians, with 100% successfully finding a job after completion of its courses.
Mei Yoke Pak, Founder of SSTC, AAT’s training provider, said: “As Malaysia further embraces digital transformation to boost the economic growth of the country, employees are at risk of being left behind if they do not equip themselves with the latest skills relevant to the economy.
"We are honoured to have this opportunity to support Malaysia’s accountancy industry and help close the skill gap.
"Through this programme, we aim to help make a career in accounting more accessible and achievable by teaching practical and job-ready accounting skills.”
Mohd Ariff Ithnin, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan Peneraju, added: “Accounting has been one of the areas Yayasan Peneraju has been investing greatly in. Since 2012, Yayasan Peneraju has trained and nurtured more than 4,000 accounting professionals.
"With this new partnership with SSTC, Yayasan Peneraju hopes to cast the net wider in capturing youths that are eager for life changing opportunities, train them and link them with employment opportunities in propelling their career to greater heights.”
