On the morning of 3rd August 2021, Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) and Institute of Brunei Technical Education (IBTE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to mark their collaborative efforts towards the UNN Apprenticeship Program. Gracing the event was Guest of Honour Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) from the Ministry of Education Dr Haji Azman bin Ahmad.
UNN Apprenticeship & Internship Program was spearheaded by UNN’s Learning & Development department under its Human Resource division to put into practice and develop skills the students currently have and encourage on-hands application of the learned skills in a corporate or business environment. Under this MOU, IBTE will be incorporating the UNN Apprenticeship Program as part of its student’s syllabus.
Signing on behalf of UNN were its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Steffen Oehler and witnessed by its Head of Human Resource Dr A’idah Pg Haji Bakar while signing on behalf of IBTE were its Director of Technical Education and CEO Dr Hj Mohd Zamri bin Hj Sabli and witnessed by its Acting Principal Central Campus Armi Durani bin Hj Durhman.
In his welcoming speech, Dr Steffen expressed the importance of professional work exposure for students and of how the telecommunication industry works on a first-hand experience. He advised the students who are participating in this program to have a passion and eagerness to learn new things in this era of rapid technological advancement and emphasized on making full use of the program to sharpen their current skills and learn new ones, where possible.
Dr Hj Mohd Zamri added that students need to spend their time, both on campus and in the industry. In addition, the synergies from the mutual cooperation will enable the students to respond to the rapid changes in skills and technology taking place in an ever-evolving society and industry.
The UNN Apprenticeship Program with IBTE is a 12-month program where apprentices (students) will be placed at four departments – Field Operations, HSE, Network Operations Centre, and Service Delivery & Rollout Management and be evaluated via practical and theoretical assessments by their respective supervisors.
UNN hoped that its Apprenticeship and Internship Program, which was introduced in June 2019, will create potential skilled local workforce in line with Brunei Vision 2035, and that students of this program are given new pathways or opportunities, be provided with relevant skills and work experiences, and are cultivated to be more marketable to employers after they graduate.
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