MINDEF IMPLEMENTS PHARMAGRAD PROGRAMME FOR CHILDREN OF MILITARY PERSONNEL, VETERANS

KUALA LUMPUR, The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) is implementing the Pharmagrad programme in collaboration with Pharmaniaga as a form of industrial training (IT) specifically for the children of military personnel and veterans of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM). Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the children of ATM personnel and veterans who are graduates in fields such as pharmaceuticals, biomedical, chemistry, engineering, logistics, information technology, and finance have the opportunity to undergo an eight-month IT with Pharmaniaga. "Starting next year, Pharmaniaga Berhad will allocate 120 places through the Pharmagrad programme," he said in his speech at the Defence Minister's Breaking of Fast Ceremony with Media Practitioners here today. Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled said that in addition to Pharmagrad, his ministry is also implementing the Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs-Ready To Work or PROTEGE-RTW programme in collaboration with BHPetrol. He said PR OTEGE-RTW is a programme that combines several initiatives to enhance the employability potential of graduates and entrepreneurial skills among unemployed graduates. "... and it is open to graduate children of ATM personnel in all fields. PROTEGE-RTW will involve, among other things, placement training and guidance with companies involved for a period of eight to 12 months," he said. Mohamed Khaled said among the companies participating in this programme alongside Pharmaniaga are government-linked companies (GLCs), government procurement recipient companies and private companies. He explained that BHPetrol will allocate 22 places each year for a period of three years, totalling 66 placements. "Candidate selection will be based on predefined criteria for suitability. This number will be reviewed according to future requirements," he said. He said through such programme networks, the welfare agenda of ATM and families will always be strengthened. Source: BERNAMA News Agency