Protégé MEDC Carnival Promotes programmes by the Ministry

14 January 2024

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KUALA LUMPUR: The PROTÉGÉ @ MEDC Carnival 2024 launched at the World Trade Centre here today is the beginning of a series of 6 carnivals to be held nationwide.

MEDC Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the carnivals would take place in the Northern Zone, Southern Zone, Eastern Zone, and Borneo Zone, with the same concept.

Speaking during the Inauguration Ceremony of The PROTÉGÉ Carnival @ MEDC 2024, he said the carnival series targets around 9,000 visitors, where entrepreneurship and marketability programmes under PROTÉGÉ would be shared through briefing sessions for graduates, students, entrepreneurs, and the public.

He said the programme enhanced marketability skills and foster entrepreneurship among graduates and students and he highly encouraged such programmes to be implemented periodically to provide opportunities for graduates, students, and the public to obtain information about the initiatives provided by the Government.

According to him, the Government was committed to assisting the people, including graduate entrepreneurs and students, through the PROTEGE programme where a fund of RM30 million was been allocated in the 12th Malaysia Plan, targeting 76,690 graduates and students.

“In line with these targets, MEDC has developed several initiatives that can be utilised by graduates and students. These initiatives are also aligned with the goals of the National Entrepreneurship Policy (DKN) 2030, which aims to make Malaysia an Entrepreneurial Nation by 2030,” he said.

According to him, his Ministry had established close collaboration with relevant ministries and agencies to assist graduates and students, such as the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Human Resources, and PERKESO, to ensure the success of this national agenda.

“This collaboration will continue in the coming years. Today, we can see the involvement of several public and private higher education institutions in the Klang Valley, central agencies, and various other parties working together to make this program successful,” he shared.

He said that entrepreneurship skills ensured that students at the university level were innovative, advanced, and competitive entrepreneurs in the face of challenging business realities.

“Among the programmes planned by PROTÉGÉ, MEDC for students and graduates in 2024 included online Intensive Training Programme for New Generation Entrepreneurs (N-GENE), Career Placement and Entrepreneurship Training Programme for TVET (GRACE) as well as Entrepreneurial Internship Programme (SPACE).”

Other programmes included Professional Certification Programme for TVET Graduates, Student Entrepreneurship Seminar, Graduate Entrepreneur Programme (PUSh) and Career Exploration Programme (ROAD).

“Participants in these programmes will receive training in entrepreneurial mindset development, operational and financial management, self-confidence, and physical or digital sales and marketing strategies. They will be guided by business counselors who are involved in real business activities. Financial assistance in the form of business grants will also be provided as startup support, along with monitoring elements,” he said.

He shared success stories of participants who joined the PROTÉGÉ programme in the past where a UMK student who achieved a six-figure income from selling retort squid noodles, as reported in Berita Harian on December 10, 2023.

“This student had participated in the SPACE program, and I believe the knowledge gained contributed to their success,” he said.

“Another success story is that of actress Yana Samsudin, who participated in the N-GENE programme. She has successfully built various businesses, including clothing and hijab businesses. In addition to these two stories, there are also participants who have created job opportunities for others through the businesses they have developed. For example, the 2022 N-GENE participants created 190 new job opportunities.

Today, 33 companies are present to offer around 8,000 job opportunities to attending graduates. So, I urge all of you to seize the opportunity to participate in these programmes,” he elaborated.

In addition to the above-mentioned programs, PROTÉGÉ also provided a platform to build dream careers through the Graduates' Career Placement Programme with Industry or better known as PROTÉGÉ Ready to Work (PROTÉGÉ-RTW) programme. Based on records, about 24,386 graduates have benefited from the PROTÉGÉ-RTW programme from 2021 to 2023. Approximately 10% or around 2,438 of these programme participants have successfully obtained employment, whether absorbed by the training companies or employed by other companies, he stated.

Also present during the event were Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, Dato' Ramanan Ramakrishnan and the Ministry’s Secretary General Dato’ Sri Suriani Dato’ Ahmad.