Graduate Programmes With Leading Employers

In the war for top graduate talents, the TalentCorp-World Bank survey finds that many leading graduate employers in Malaysia have introduced premium graduate programmes which pay a higher starting salary to source for fresh talent.

Forty-three per cent of companies interviewed paid “premium” entry-level graduates between RM3,000 and RM5,000 a month. These programmes aim to attract top graduate talent who can be groomed to be future leaders of the company.

This article illustrates some examples of attractive career opportunities for Malaysian graduates which provide structured programmes for high potentials to develop their skills and gain exposure in organisations with a regional and international presence.

To find out more about graduate programmes and career tips from leading employers in Malaysia, log on to www.Ready4Work.my

Nestlé

Nestlé is a firm believer in grooming and developing young talent. In fact, 40% of Nestlé’s global executive board members joined the company as graduates mainly through the Nestlé Management Trainee Programme.

The Nestlé Management Trainee Programme is a two-year comprehensive leadership and development programme for young talent positioned in strategic functions across the organisation. The programme aims to ensure that the organisation is equipped with high performing individuals groomed to be future leaders of Nestlé.

Nestlé offers Management Trainee (MT) positions in the following functions:

• Sales and marketing
• Finance
• Supply chain
• Human resources
• Technical and production

Once graduates are selected to be a part of the Nestlé Management Trainee Programme, their career path will be structured according to a specific function in which they applied for.

For example, if selected as a finance MT, their career path during and post the two-year MT programme will be in finance.

The two-year journey as an MT will include managing projects, people, and resources, with key learnings and objectives to achieve, as Nestlé is a firm believer in learning on-the-job and learning through doing.

Graduates in the programme will be guided by experienced coaches and mentors, enabling them to acquire new skills consolidated through field exposure.

Trainees/talents will also have the opportunity to work alongside the industry’s top-class professionals and ultimately be equipped with global standards of excellence.

Selection criteria:

• Masters or Degree holders with min CGPA 3.5
• Fresh graduates or graduates with no more than two years working experience
• Active in co-curricular activities
• Excellent communication skills: verbal and written
• Great interpersonal skills
• Strong leadership and analytical skills
• Ability to work well independently and as part of a team

The recruitment period for Technical Management Trainees and Corporate and Commercial Trainees is from April to July. Intake date is in September.

To learn more of the Nestlé Management Trainee programme, please log onto http://www.Nestlé.com.my/careers/graduates/management_trainee

Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered Bank, with its brand promise “Here for good”, recruits graduates for two main programmes:

International Graduate Programme (IGP)
During the programme of between 12 and 24 months, graduates are rotated through six different functions. They are given value-added work and ownership of the projects undertaken.

Upon completion of the programme, graduates will be placed in a business unit and function that best suits their strengths and capabilities.

Fast Track Programme
This is an accelerated programme that runs for 12 months and aims to nurture graduates and develop their capabilities to become world-class bankers.

Graduates have the opportunity to learn, perform and shine in key revenue-generating positions, which bring significant value and profitability to Standard Chartered clients’ businesses. In addition, graduates will be given intensive and extensive classroom and on-the-job training, and assigned a number of projects with real deadlines and accountability.

Upon completion of the programme, graduates will be placed in a unit or division within the bank that best suits their strengths and interests.

Selection requirements for both graduate programmes:

• Any academic degree
• Strong interest and passion in wanting to become a world-class banking professional
• Strong command of English
• Having other language skills is a strong advantage
• Ability to build relationships with people easily

The recruitment period for the IGP and Fast Track programme is from September to February. Intake date is in September.

To apply for Standard Chartered’s graduate positions, please log onto www.standardchartered.com/ExploreYou

UEM Group

Every year, the company looks for two groups of fresh graduates to join their Talent Development Programme, which comprises two tracts – the Young Engineers Programme and Young Graduates Programme.

Young Engineers Programme (YEP)
The YEP is a five-year programme that develops graduate engineers into project managers and construction managers, eventually leading the talent to become a project director.

Once graduates have established a great career track record, they will be considered for senior management positions.

Engineering graduates’ career paths are mapped to the requirements of the Board of Engineers in order for UEM YEPs to gain their P.E. (Professional Engineer) qualification.

Young Graduates Programme (YGP)
The YGP is a three-year programme which recruits fresh graduates from various fields to build a talent pipeline for non-technical roles.

Non-technical roles are corporate affairs, human resources, finance, procurement, and information technology. As with YEP, graduates will have a structured training programme which will develop and nurture technical and leadership skills.

The YGP gives practical experience in the graduate’s chosen function and experienced seniors and professionals will also mentor throughout the three years.

With the YEP and YGP, graduates can expect:

• Three to four rotational assignments across UEM
• Formal training opportunities
• Structured development plan
• Ongoing personal and professional mentorship by experienced technical leaders
• Senior management interaction and visibility
• Management and leadership skills

Selection Criteria

• YGP – Candidates must have a relevant Bachelors degree
• YEP – Candidates must have an Engineering Bachelors degree (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronics). A minimum CGPA of 3.2 or equivalent
• Good command of written and spoken English
• International and Domestic Mobility: Comfortable working on projects that will require him/her to be based in outstation locations
• Vacancies: 40 for YEP, 20 for YGP

The UEM Group graduate programmes are challenging but extremely rewarding, as what you learn forms the building blocks of your career foundation.

The recruitment period for the YEP and YGP is from April to November. Intake date is in November.

To apply for UEM’s graduate positions, kindly log onto www.uem.com.my

Celcom

Celcom grooms and develops its young graduate talents through its CAMT – Celcom Axiata Management Trainee Programme. The programme was formerly known as the Axiata Experiential Programme or AXP.

The purpose of the programme is to identify young talented individuals who have just graduated, and who, over time, can lead and take the Celcom business to new heights.

Once selected, Celcom Management Trainees (MTs) will embark on an 18-month programme designed to give talent exposure to the core of Celcom business from their first day of work.

The CAMT is divided into three stages. Each stage will run for a six-month period on a rotation basis.

The stages consist of three divisions – Sales strategy, brand management/device marketing and digital technology.

During each rotation, MTs will learn more about the function whilst accomplishing a specific role and a project. This role and project have real responsibilities, deadlines and KPIs.

MTs are placed in these three divisions in order to gain specific knowledge and the skills of Celcom’s core business areas.

Additionally, MTs will participate in learning workshops, CSR projects, and a mentorship programme.

As indicated above, upon completion of the full programme, MTs are given priority to be placed in the division that is best suited to their interests and career aspirations.

Celcom places huge emphasis on critical thinking, and this is just one of many learnings that Celcom wishes to enhance during the duration of the CAMT programme.

Other key learnings will be business and financial acumen, stakeholder management, skills in creating and presenting a business case, and leadership skills.

Requirements:

• Bachelors degree
• Good command of English (written and spoken)
• Structured and creative thinking process
• Confident in presenting new ideas and proposals to the senior management team
• Ability to adapt and change to new working environments and circumstances

The recruitment period for CAMT is from March to October. Intake date is in January.

To apply for the CAMT programme, please log onto http://axiata.com/careers/join_young.htm