Second Chance Education to Ensure Sufficient Tech Talent for the Future

A year into the pandemic and the world has increasingly become dependent on technology. Whether it is shopping for daily essentials through websites and apps, learning and working from home, or even socialising and keeping entertained virtually during lockdown, technology has become a fundamental part of daily life. It is this rush towards digital transformation that is driving companies to scout for tech talent to help them deliver new solutions and upgrade their information technology (IT) infrastructure required by the times.

Aware of the global demand for IT skills and IT-related jobs, four students sought a second chance through INTI International College Subang’s Certificate in Information Technology (CIT) programme. While other colleges had turned them down for the grades they obtained in their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and O Level examinations, they worked hard to redeem themselves at INTI.

Miri-born Eddin Kuan Zeng Heng, whose family moved to Brunei when he was young, shared that his inadequate O Level exam results left him with a limited selection of colleges where he was living and in Malaysia.

“Most colleges and universities require a minimum of three or four credits. I felt hopeless and envious of other people’s grades because I did not take my exams seriously at the time. Luckily for me, INTI’s certificate course accepts students with a minimum of one credit in their SPM or O Levels,” said the 19-year-old who completed his certificate in December 2020 and has since progressed to the first year of INTI’s Diploma in Information Technology programme.

Recalling his experience during his time in the certificate programme, he said lecturers were eager to impart their knowledge and experience, so students only had to put in effort when it came to notes, tutorials, assignments, and exams. Eddin Kuan, who now finds himself more motivated to setting and achieving goals, hopes to pursue his degree after this and one day become a network engineer.

For Vincent Cheah, the CIT programme not only gave him a second chance in education but also offered him an opportunity to make up for the results he did not achieve.

“I have always loved computers and programming, but my poor results in the Unified Examinations Certificate (UEC) and SPM made me feel like a failure. What college would accept me? I was a lazy brat who did not care about education,” said the former Chinese independent high school student.

He shared how he has gained basic knowledge in IT through the CIT programme and how it has given him a reason to focus and strive towards excellence. Among his greatest achievements are scoring a CGPA of 4.0, coding a programme and making a RJ45 cable which is commonly used for Ethernet networking.

“Besides being a fun and enjoyable programme, the CIT has equipped me for the Diploma in Computer Science programme that I am now doing at INTI,” said Vincent.

Meanwhile, Pravin Raj chose to enrol in the CIT programme because his average results were not sufficient to apply for a diploma course.

“I obtained 1A and six credits in other subjects except for Mathematics. Though I wasn’t worried about being able to further my studies, I was concerned about how to cope with the subjects in the CIT programme. CIT allowed me to pursue a path in IT and to even do well in the required subjects like Maths,” he said.

Pravin, 21, graduated from the CIT programme in August 2020 and is now pursuing his Diploma in Computer Science. He said he had developed good study habits while taking the certificate course which assisted him to consistently get good results each semester.

“My ultimate goal is to get a job as a cyber security professional and work with CyberSecurity Malaysia to help our police and government fight cybercrimes. This means I have to go for my degree in computer science and major in this area,” he said, adding that he believes students should always go for things that they are passionate about.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Wong Kah Chi revealed that his fascination for computers started as early as primary school. It was because of this that he took up classes in Photoshop, Facial Animation Software, and even game designing. The former SMK Dato’ Ibrahim Yaacob student was offered the ICT subject up until Form 3 and has won multiple Anugerah Cemerlang awards in high school.

Though he had initially signed up for a Diploma in Business course, he withdrew after a semester and decided to put his studies on hold while he got a job near his hometown of Kepong. After a year of employment, he discovered an interest in computers and had to convince his father to let him pursue the CIT programme.

“My father thought that doing a certificate course would be a waste of time. I could not find any college that would accept me into their Diploma in IT programme with my results, but I was hopeful in 2019 when INTI started offering the CIT. I surveyed programmes at other colleges, but their course structure was not as industry relevant as INTI’s, and their fees were even more expensive if I were to progress into a Diploma after,” said Kah Chi whose three credits in the 2017 SPM did not include Mathematics, a prerequisite for a Diploma in IT programme.

Currently in his first semester of the Diploma in IT programme at INTI, he said he would gladly enrol for any of INTI’s 3+0 degree programmes upon graduating in 2022. When asked what he would advise students who are taking or contemplating pursuing the CIT programme, he answered: “Don’t think of CIT as a result of the mistakes you made in your high school exams. See it as a second chance in tertiary education. I never regretted the one and a half years I spent doing my certificate at INTI. When I received my final semester results, I know that not only did I make myself proud, but I also made my father proud too.”