SUNGAI BULOH, The Ex-Servicemen Affairs Corporation (PERHEBAT) needs to be more proactive in establishing cooperation and exploring new approaches that can benefit future armed forces retirees in finding a second career, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
He said PERHEBAT should clearly and strategically determine what competitive fields or sectors it wished to explore.
“The identified fields or sectors can be shared with the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) to serve as a basis for negotiating the forms and patterns of Industrial Collaboration Programmes (ICP) or offset programmes with various industries and suppliers that have contractual obligations with the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) or MINDEF.
“This approach will not only open up more meaningful opportunities for retirees and veterans of the MAF but will also add significant value to our national defence ecosystem,” he said during his speech at the Malaysian Skills Diploma and PERHEBAT Certificate Award Ceremony at the PERHEBAT Compl
ex, Sungai Buloh Camp, here today.
At the ceremony, Mohamed Khaled presented Malaysian Skills Diplomas to 209 MAF members and veterans and Transition Training Certificates to 338 soon-to-be MAF retirees.
He also witnessed the exchange of eight Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) between PERHEBAT and private companies, banking institutions, and local universities.
Among those involved were Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, GIATMARA, GGS and Bravo Energy Sdn. Bhd for the training program and job placement, while the MoUs with Affin Islamic Bank Bhd, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd and Bank Simpanan Nasional would provide training and business incentives to MAF veterans.
Mohamed Khaled also stated that it was reasonable to expect PERHEBAT to take the approach of identifying industry partners and conducting effective and extensive job-matching efforts.
“Perhaps we can start with the subsidiaries under LTAT. This will certainly be the best way to directly connect veterans and future MAF retirees with quality employment
,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said PERHEBAT was monitoring the career development of 6,851 retirees who completed the Transition Training last year, noting that 60 per cent of them had found employment.
“Another 40 percent of veterans are still looking for work. However, some have chosen not to work and are comfortably enjoying their pensions,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency