Curtin Career Fair 2014

First of all, happy Halloween to those who are celebrating! May your 31st be as scary as ever. Forget your halloween costumes though as this career fair doesn't even hint on halloween. On the day before the 31st, Curtin University Sarawak Campus has been organizing a career fair in their own basketball hall (mind you, UTP's career fair is called TEC which stands for Technology, Education and Career, which is much more grand than Curtin's hehe no offense). It was a very informative visit to those who came to search the best company to work with or have an intern with.

So yeah, together with my friend  and my brother to the career fair

The three of us do not have any difficulty in locating the hall but they should have improved it by putting signboards indicating where the career fair is being done (just like how UTP has been practising it). But the major problem would be finding a suitable parking though, It is quite limited (this kind of experience somehow shares coincidentally with UTP, not a good thing). Despite the inconveniences we experienced earlier, it's worthwhile as we are greeted well from the organizers of the event and there was a lucky draw at the entrance as well! The prizes were the usual pens and keychains but the lucky ones do receive an mp3 or even a usb thumb drive!

Those who attend the career fair were eager to find out what the companies have to offer

The first booth that we came to visit was a well known company named Shell. It came to no surprise that Shell has a lot to offer to selected candidates who will either going to be recruited or to those who are looking to have an intern with. Their representative who is currently doing an intern for a month now has been describing to us what Shell has to offer. The opportunities are vast and not only for the technical side but as well as the commercial side. Another representative which is a much more experienced lady further explains to us about internship requirement as well as how the importance of a women's role in the company and how Shell has been empowering women in this sense.

Our next walk was to the Halliburton booth. After having introduced ourselves to the representatives on what we are looking for as well as our technical background, the representatives explains us on what kind of positions or jobs available in Halliburton. One of the representative (who seems quite old and experienced) has been highlighting the importance of writing a good curriculum vitae (CV) and how passion in one's career is when applying for the job. He jokingly explains that he won't hire people who just gave a simple CV template and threatens us if he sees these kinds of CVs being handed to him! CV is one of the most important step before the interview so it makes sense for us to pay close attention to it, he further explains.

Another interesting booth that visited would be PETRONAS (mind you, one of the representative is quite pretty hehe). Their representatives explained to us who should we contact to if we want to arrange an internship here in Miri with PETRONAS SKO without undergoing the central's process which usually is discover PETRONAS. But the most interesting offering they had was the PRODIGY programme. It is a 2 years programme where the trainees were given hands on training on all sorts of project regarding oil and gas industry with numerous affiliated companies such as Shell, PETRONAS and Talisman to name a few. Trainees will also be provided with transport and best of all, RM 3,000 allowances with all other fees being sponsored by the affiliated companies. Is that exciting or what! But here's the catch, only 50 limited trainees will be accepted, therefore the perks are completely justified.

One of the booths being displayed at the career fair

We did take a look at other companies such as Sunway and Petra, but I found them giving the same advice of how important it is to know what you want to do and ensure that you have given all your best during the recruiting process. Now that we have armed ourselves with some important and relevant knowledge that are not taught in lectures, tutorials or even lab sessions, we still need to wait a few years before entering the work force. For those who will be entering the workforce soon, look no further as career fairs are a great start to find out about companies and their job offerings!

28th International CASH Baram Trophy 2014

Piala Baram 2014 yang dianjurkan oleh Miri Division Rugby Association dan ditaja oleh CASH

Pagi tadi jam 8 pagi, pertandingan ragbi Piala Baram yang ke-28 telah bermula dengan perlawanan pertama pada pukul 9:12 pagi antara SM Sains Miri 1 dengan SHOAW 1 kategori junior (bawah 16 tahun). Perlawanan tersebut berakhir dengan kemenangan berpihak kepada SHOAW 1 7-21. SM Sains Miri 2 juga tidak bernasib baik seperti rakan-rakan mereka apabila bertemu dengan SHOAW 2 dengan skor sebanyak 0-39. SHOAW 1 seterusnya mengukir kejayaan apabila bertemu dengan SMK Pujut sebanyak 36-0.

Untuk kategori senior open pula, perlawanan bermula hampir tengah hari kira-kira lewat jam 10 pagi. Perlawanan antara Polis Brunei dan KRFC dimulakan. Seterusnya, Miri pula berlawan dengan Sibu di mana kemenangan berpihak kepada Sibu 14-26.

Para pemain dari Sibu berkumpul dan berbincang sebelum perlawanan antara Miri dengan Sibu bermula

Para pemain dari Miri sedang membuat persediaan sebelum bertemu dengan Sibu

Para pemain dari Miri mendengar taklimat sebelum memulakan perlawanan

Wakil Miri untuk Piala Baram 2014, sebuah kebanggaan buat Miri

The 28th International CASH Baram Trophy Cum Piala YB Dato' Sri Peter Chin Fah Kui, 2014 merupakan sebuah pertandingan yang diadakan setiap dua tahun sekali. Pertandingan terakhir sekali yang diadakan merupakan pada tahun 2012 yang lalu. Tahun ini, pertandingan ini diadakan pada hari Sabtu dan Ahad 25 dan 26 haribulan Oktober pada pukul 9 pagi sehingga 6 petang di Stadium Miri. Walaupun pada hakikatnya pertandingan ini merupakan pada peringkat antarabangsa, namun hanya dua kumpulan daripada kategori senior open dari Brunei sahaja yang menyertai pertandingan ini.

Antara senarai kumpulan yang menyertai Piala Baram 2014 adalah seperti berikut:

Senior Open:

1. Miri Rhinos
2. Bintulu Rugby Association
3. Brunei Pythons 
4. Brunei Polis
5. Kuching
6. Sibu

Junior Under 16s:

1. SMK Pujut 1
2. SM Sains Miri 1
3. SM Sains Miri 2
4. SHOAW 1
5. SHOAW 2

Namun demikian, menurut senarai perlawanan, terdapat beberapa perlawanan di mana kategori mereka tidak disenarai seperti kategori ladies, di mana kaum wanita seramai dua kumpulan iaitu Miri Ladies dan Brunei Ladies, dan kategori kids, iaitu kanak-kanak juga dua kumpulan, akan bertanding.

Para pemain berehat sebentar sebelum perlawanan yang seterusnya

Beberapa pemain simpanan berdiri di tepi barisan menonton rakan-rakan mereka beraksi

Penulis berharap agar lebih ramai lagi yang datang menonton serta menyokong pertandingan ini pada masa akan datang agar lebih meriah dan menyeronokkan.

Majlis Konvokesyen Pertama CETA

Tanggal 22 haribulan Oktober 2014 merupakan hari yang amat bersejarah buat Cahaya Educational & Training Academy (CETA) kerana mereka telah berjaya mengadakan Majlis Konvokesyen yang pertama sejak penubuhannya pada tahun 2011. Dengan penuh bangganya, CETA merupakan sebuah syarikat yang dimiliki 100% oleh Bumiputera!

Para graduan bergambar bersama YB Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh

Seramai 98 pelajar telah menerima sijil kemahiran mereka dalam kursus yang berikut:

1. Technical Drafting
2. Pipefitting
3. Scaffolding

Para graduan CETA mempunyai kemahiran yang mencapai piawaian industri agar mereka mudah untuk memasuki pasaran. Disebabkan betapa pentingnya mempunyai kemahiran teknikal dan vokasional, adalah wajar untuk institusi-institusi seperti CETA untuk melahirkan para graduan yang menepati piawaian industri agar mampu untuk memacu pertumbuhan negara ke arah yang lebih maju. Dalam masa 6 tahun lagi, Malaysia akan menjelang tahun 2020 iaitu suatu lonjakan paradigma yang amat penting untuk negara kita kerana Dr. Mahathir telah menetapkan Wawasan 2020. Untuk Sarawak pula, kita disasarkan untuk menjadi negeri berpendapatan tinggi setaraf dengan negeri-negeri seperti Selangor menjelang tahun 2030. 

Seperti yang diucapkan oleh YB Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh, Menteri Muda di Pejabat Ketua Menteri, dengan nada gurauan, beliau berkata, sekiranya tidak berminat untuk meneruskan pengajian dalam bidang akademik, boleh ceburi dalam bidang kemahiran. Sambung beliau, gaji seorang pekerja jurusan teknikal boleh mencapai RM 80,000 dengan syarat mempunyai pengalaman 10 tahun. Namun, ini semua memerlukan usaha yang jitu bagi mencapai yang tinggi.

Para pelajar Kolej Tun Datu Tuanku Haji Bujang Miri bermain gamelan sempena Majlis Konvokesyen

Majlis Konvokesyen tersebut diakhiri dengan sesi penggambaran buat para graduan yang sungguh teruja setelah tamat pengajian mereka. Sekalung sijil merupakan hadiah yang amat bermakna buat mereka untuk meneruskan perjuangan mereka dalam menempuhi alam pekerjaan yang serba mencabar kini. Semoga CETA terus menyediakan pendidikan yang berkualiti dan Majlis Konvokesyen yang lebih meriah pada masa yang akan datang.

Short Courses in Miri Community College

Earlier in the morning, I went to the Miri Community College which is situated at Permyjaya, Miri. The college isn't that big but the design of the building itself is very beautiful but inside, it is quite spacious and well designed. Seems professional indeed! The security there is very simple but nonetheless quite secured than I ever imagined when I first step foot on the doors of the college.

Before this, I've been been hearing a lot about Miri Community College, or Community College as a whole, was being set up at a national level as to provide quality education to the public at a cheap price! But as we all know, since this is a move by our government with it's great offer, it does come with some drawbacks. Nevertheless it's worthwhile our money for a great experience and some extra knowledge that will guide us in our efforts to provide not only food on the table but much more.

Enough of the introduction already, let's get down to business. Below are the short courses being provided by Miri Community College:

1. Basic 3D Max
2. Basic Adobe Photoshop
3. Basic Flash animation
4. Basic AutoCAD
5. Basic hair styling
6. Basic glass painting
7. Basic dress sewing
8. Basic counselling
9. Basic handicraft (felt)
10. Basic handicraft (ribbon)
11. Basic Microsoft Office (Word/PowerPoint/Excel)
12. Basic individual development
13. Basic sketching
14. Basic smart solat (Muslim)
15. Basic tajwid (Muslim)
16. Basic Arabic
17. Biscuit, cake, cakoi, ham jing beng
18. Bread and bun
19. Glass painting
20. Bead sewing
21. East coast dishes
22. Stress management
23. ICT

... and many more courses offered at the discretion of the management. But one needs to note that these courses listed are SHORT COURSES and that not all of them are provided at a particular time. Based on my own observations and findings, they usually only provide classes on cooking, sewing and the likes. Rarely they provide technical classes probably due to lower demand compared to the said courses.

Besides the short courses provided, they also provide two certificate courses. They include Interior Design, and Industrial Maintenance.

Community colleges like these are great ways for youths to make full use of their time after they finished their PT3 or SPM. With the benefit of being reasonably priced tuition fees, it's one of the best initiatives by the government in producing better skilled workforce in the future as well as reducing crime. Besides we are getting closer to Wawasan 2020, therefore we need to make full use of the facility provided by the government to improve not only ourselves, but as well as the whole nation as a whole. Malaysia BOLEH!

Checking out the new Perodua Axia

Perodua Axia is a new compact car by Perodua which replaces the outgoing Perodua Viva. My friend and I was able to test drive the highest spec Perodua Axia which is dubbed the Perodua Axia Advance. The car was powered by a 1.0 litre engine from Daihatsu. It has safety features like ABS, EBD as well as BA (that's a whole leap of safety features if compared to the Kancil and the Viva which have none).

Source: paultan.org

Despite the amazing experience (mind you the experience that I have been comparing to is only subjective as I am comparing to the Kancil, Viva and Myvi), these features are only available for the SE version and above (as of 2014). Personally, the only dislike I am experiencing from the car is that the steering feels rather plasticky and flimsy (as if it's toy car's steering wheel), not solid. Another woe that I'm experiencing from the car is that it's gas pedal feels too light and soft whereby there is no tightness when pressing on the gas pedal. This is a bit of a boon personally as I can't feel the amount of gas I put on the Axia. Another problem would be that because the engine is just 1.0 litre and that it's an automatic transmission, the gear shifting feels a bit off and inaccurate (occurs only once during my first test drive with Axia).

Nevertheless, the car performs well and powerful enough for me to bring along 3 adults including me (during the test drive). I find it very impressive with the front sensor being installed, it really helps me to maneuver the car in tight spots when parking or bringing the car out for the test drive. The cabin as well as the seating arrangement of the car is reasonably comfortable as well as spacious despite being an A-segment car and is comparable to the Perodua Myvi experience. The rear passengers does have enough legroom even when the front seat is positioned all the way back! Best buy indeed! Handling of the car has never been easier and lighter since the car is equipped with Electronic Power Steering (EPS). It really feels light compared to those days when I was learning how to drive on a Viva 850 manual.

Although this is only my first test drive with the Perodua Axia, I'd say I'm very impress with the build quality and the driving experience for the young and still single drivers that the Perodua Axia has to offer. I'm looking forward to what Perodua has to offer in the future and hopefully provide better cars for the Rakyat to be proud of.

P/s: The experience driving Perodua Axia can never beat the 1st gen Toyota Vios I've been using to pick up my siblings from school though hehe.