Penang Technology Center teaches data science and engineering – Wired PR Lifestyle Story
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[Written in partnership with MaGIC, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
“Did you know that, on average, employers in the technology industry will have to train graduates for an average of 8 months or more before they think they are ready for work?”
And this is just one of the problems that Howie Chang has identified in senior positions in his technology career as a practitioner and hiring manager in a variety of capacities.
According to him, universities are also not designed to change curricula and introduce new classes at the pace needed to keep up with the changing demands of the industry, especially in the technology industry.
This leads to a significant discrepancy between the skills that employers seek and the competencies they actually have in graduating students.
After all, it suffers from new graduates, job seekers, and employers large and small. Knowing he could do something about it, Howie created it Forward School March 2020, headquartered in Penang.
Teach employable skills
Forward School can simply be described as an employment school rule, which is that the way we teach students prioritizes employability.
What we mean by employability is skills that can be used immediately in a company, thus addressing the problem of employers having to spend resources on recycling talent.
Seeing that this is quite a problem, I then asked him why the universities were not doing anything.
As Howie noted, “Universities tend to be more focused on research activities because their global rankings are largely influenced by the amount of work their professors and professors publish in journals.”
So unless universities make big reforms in how the world is perceived, little will change. From there the Forward School enters to make a difference.
“We are a project-first school and there is not much punctual analysis. Instead, you learn from experience, the fastest way to become operational, ”Howie told the Vulcan Post.
“Secondly, we give them the accreditation that matters. Students can obtain certificates and accredited diplomas in software engineering, data science, AI, etc.
According to Howie, this distinguishes Forward School from bootcamp schools. In addition, its programs cater to a wider range of students, from those who leave SPM to “lane-changers” to those who are changing careers, as well as those who want to improve their skills in technology.
Forward School programs can be divided into part-time and full-time jobs, along with a distinction between levels of complexity.
| Difficulty | Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced |
| Part time | Fundamentals of Data Science | Applied Data Science | Deep applied learning |
| Full time | – | – | Applied Software Engineering |
Part-time programs run for 2 months and students can participate on campus or online, depending on the outline of a course.
Meanwhile, the Applied Software Engineering program has a duration of 2 years and is a 4th level diploma approved under Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK), guaranteed by the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources.
As the Forward School collaborates with 8 other universities in Malaysia, students can also pursue their studies in a relevant field through a credit transfer to receive a 3-year degree or a Preliminary Experiential Learning Accreditation (APEL) career.
Securing jobs upon graduation
Another thing that stood out to me about Forward School was its Applied Software Engineering Diploma.
Although students may choose to pay the full course fee per semester, there are other funding options available:
- Income Sharing Agreement (ISA): Advanced tuition deposit (RM3,000), RM0 tuition + 15% of 120% gross income;
- ECM Libra Education Loan: Advanced tuition deposit (RM3,000), RM0 tuition + 0% interest and 60-month refund;
- Student Sponsorship Program: RM0 teaching + Related to sponsoring company at graduation.
What I found interesting was the third option above: a company that supports a student’s learning. Then the question I asked Howie was, how is it different for a company to recycle talent when it pays its salary? What is it like to encourage a company to support a student?
“The difference lies in building a scalable and sustainable talent pipeline. Hiring partners who work with us take this seriously and understand the need to nurture and grow their talent early, ”Howie responded.
“Companies have access to sponsors for their talents from the very beginning, and because of the structure of our program, students work with their company once a week (full day) from 1st to 2nd semester.”
By the time they complete their degree, they will be ready to join the appropriate team. This is a clear example of practice as a School of Employment rule.
In fact, Forward School is very confident in its ability to prepare students for the team in all of its programs to the point where it offers job security around the world.
“Tuition fees are refunded if a student does not find work within 6 months of graduating,” Howie said.
Aside from this guarantee, what is this model of being a company that supports students who will join the graduation? 42 KL functions, the main difference being the special focus on coding skills.
Changing the educational landscape
Since opening its doors at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has trained more than 300 students in all of its programs, and Howie has been proud to include more than 25 recruitment partners.
A space for coexistence and collaboration is available at the center, so students from other states have accommodation options, albeit limited. Thus, the online learning capabilities of Forward School fill in the gaps.
At the moment, the majority of students are lane changers and business clients, but with the accreditation of their Applied Software Engineering program, Howie predicts significant growth as they reach more outlets from SPM.
Going forward, Howie hopes the Forward School can also affect students outside Malaysia, and will support their growth. MAGIC.
Howie and MaGIC are actually at a time when he was an adviser to InvestPenang after returning from an 18-year stay in Singapore.
Since then, the agency has seen the impact it has had on our local startup ecosystem, and as part of the 5th Cohort of the Forward School Global Accelerator Program (GAP), it will be able to get to know it first hand.
Through this, he has connected with creators and tutors of the same idea, all of whom have sharpened the positioning of his startup and increased confidence in launching Forward School.
A lot needs to change about the higher education model. The reality of today’s digital world is that we need to teach all generations how to learn, unlearn, and re-learn quickly so that we can transform the future of work, rather than transform it. [These are] The pains that those of us in and out of education can face.
Howie Chang, co-founder of Forward School.
- You can find out more about the school ahead here.
- You can read more content about educational startups here.
Featured Image Credit: Forward School
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