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B. Country Papers:Role of Institutions for Human Resource Development
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| 1. | Brunei Darussalam |
| Ü | Role of Institutions
for Human Resource Development in Brunei Darussalam Dr. Humayun A.J. Murshed |
| 2. | Indonesia |
| Ü | Human Resource Development
in EAGA: The Role of Institutions of Higher Education and Research- The Case of Indonesia Dr. Basri Hasanuddin |
| 3. | Malaysia |
| Ü | Human Resource Development
in BIMP-EAGA: The Role of University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Prof.Dato Dr. Abu Hassan Othman and Mr. Wong Hock Tsen |
| 4. | Philippines |
| Ü | Human Resource Development
in BIMP-EAGA: The Role of Universities in the Development of EAGA Dr. Ester A. Garcia |
| Ü | University of the Philippines Mindanao
and Human Resource Development of Mindanao Region Dr. Roger Cuyno |
ROLE
OF INSTITUTIONS
|
| Ÿ | Universiti Brunei Darussalam
(UBD) |
| The fundamental purpose of UBD is to contribute
to the progress of Brunei Darussalam. Through human resource development,
the university seeks to contribute to economic development and to
the quality of life in terms of intellectual, religious, and cultural
development. The production of capable and efficient human resources
needs serious endeavors. In the case of Brunei Darussalam, planning
for manpower requirement is not an easy task, considering its small
population base. Within this context, the Fifth National Development
Plan emphasized, inter alia: |
| Ÿ | accelerating human resource development so as to meet the country’s aim of developing an increasingly sophisticated economy, |
| Ÿ |
encouraging and nurturing “Rakyat Melayu” as leaders
of industry and commerce. |
| Against the backdrop of national planning, UBD
faces the challenge of being the only university in the country that
had been established a decade ago. In order to meet this challenge,
UBD is committed to achieve excellence in teaching, research, consultancy,
and community services. In addition, it is also interacting with other
institutions of higher learning and research for offering academic
leadership and student participation in appropriate areas of teaching
and research. UBD’s undergraduate and postgraduate courses are
offered within six faculties: Arts and Social Science, Management
and Administrative Studies, Islamic Studies, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
Institute of Education, and the Academy of Brunei Studies. The student
population at UBD is relatively small, compared to other universities
in the region (in 1995/96 academic session, the total student enrolment
was 1,230). However, in order to meet the needs of the country, UBD
has to ensure the production of high quality graduates who can eventually
contribute to national development. Despite its smallness, UBD has
the following advantages at its disposal: |
| Ÿ | Low staff-student ratio (currently 5:1), | |
| Ÿ | Experienced academic staff with international backgrounds, | |
| Ÿ | Excellent academic and physical facilities,
including the library (database and provision for information
technologies are available at the disposal of students). |
|
Although UBD closely works with the Ministry of Education, it is also responsive to the needs of other government ministries and departments. In this context, the university has a close relationship with the Civil Service Institute (CSI) which is responsible for conducting in-service training for government employees. To fulfill the national demand, UBD offers continuing education and executive development programmes, modifies its existing programmes, and introduces new curriculum, based on society’s demand. To provide potential administrators and managers
with international exposure, UBD has the ‘Junior Year Abroad
Programme,’ under which second year students from the various
faculties go to universities in the UK and Malaysia for one year.
In addition, the university sponsors students for different fellowships
such as SIF-ASEAN Visiting Fellowship and Harvard Fellowship. UBD
has several academic twinning arrangements with universities in other
countries in the areas of computer science, accounting and finance,
and electronics and electrical engineering. At the same time, the
university offers certificate, diploma, and postgraduate courses in
the fields of education, MA in Public Policy and Administration, and
MS in Petroleum and Geo-science. A new postgraduate programme -- the
Master of Business Administration (MBA) -- will be launched in January
1997. One of the distinctive features of this MBA programme is the
industrial attachment both locally and overseas, where the students
undergo on-the-job training to be exposed to the practical business
and administrative realities. |
| Ÿ |
Institut Teknologi Brunei
(ITB) |
| The primary objective of ITB is to cater to a
range of interests in technical and commercial education with its
three departments -- business and management, information systems,
and electrical and electronic engineering. It has established close
links with both the public and private sector organizations, in order
to assess their training needs and design courses accordingly. ITB
is producing Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates. The basic aim
of the HND course is to equip students with a broad-based foundation
for a range of careers in different areas of economies. It uses the
local environment as a learning resource through work placement programmes
where students are required to relate their classroom study to the
practicalities of organizations. Apart from this, HND’s emphasise
communication skills, information technology, and numeracy. The team
teaching approach is also adopted to integrate the contributory disciplines
in the core units of the course. ITB is also engaged in conducting
short courses in the following areas for public and private sector
management: |
| Ÿ | Training and Development | |
| Ÿ | Time Management | |
| Ÿ | Presentation Skills for Business | |
| Ÿ | Banking and Finance | |
| Ÿ | Accounting | |
| Ÿ |
Information Technology |
| Ÿ |
Other Technical and Vocational
Institutions |
| A) | Maktab Teknik Sultan Saiful Rizal (MTSSR) |
| MTSSR offers certificate and pre-national diploma
courses in business studies and in different areas of engineering.
It also runs courses on secretarial studies. Business studies courses
were offered under the British Technical Education Council (BTEC)
until June 1992 and secretarial courses were examined by the Royal
Society of Arts (RSA) and Pitman. After June 1992, all courses were
placed under the Brunei Darussalam Technical and Vocational Education
Council (BDTVEC). The MTSSR develops courses that are developed locally
under the auspices of the BDTVEC. Thus, it is expected that MTSSR
would be able to include more courses to meet the local requirements.
The main focus of the courses is vocational, which is achieved through
more practical teaching and exposure to industries. Each student is
required to undergo six months of on-the-job training after completing
the first year of the course. The major course objectives are as follows: |
| 1) |
To develop skills and personal qualities which will help students achieve success in a wide range of employments, |
| 2) | To provide a sound background for students who wish to progress to Higher National Diploma (HND) and higher-level courses thereafter, and |
| 3) |
To provide a foundation for a range of careers
and to enable students to appreciate the scope of career prospects
available in Brunei Darussalam and in particular, to familiarize
them with careers in the private sector. |
| B) | Jefri Bolkiah College of Engineering |
| This college offers a wide range of crafts, technical,
and ad-hoc courses developed to meet the demand from the public and
private sectors of Brunei Darussalam. The college operates closely
with the Brunei Shell Training Centre. Three-year technical level
courses are offered at the BTEC certificate level. Such courses include
mechanical and production engineering, electrical and plant engineering,
and welding and fabrication. It also offers a diploma in agriculture
in collaboration with the Sinaut Agricultural College, and a marine
engineering course in collaboration with the Ministry of Communication.
At the craft level, a locally-developed basic engineering course with
a vocational focus is offered. |
| C) | Sinaut Agricultural Training Center |
| This Center was established in the mid-60s by
Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP). In 1974, it was restructured as an agricultural
school and became administered by the Ministry of Industry and Primary
Resources. The Center offers Rice Technician Course, Livestock Technician
Course, Agricultural Technician Course, and other short courses. It
also offers a four-year industrial attachment in both public and private
sector. |
| D) | Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah College of Nursing |
| This college caters to the need of the health
sector by producing trained nurses. Its graduates are awarded with
the diploma in nursing. |
| E) | Mechanical Training Center |
| Established in 1986, this Center offers both full-time
and part-time courses in the operation and maintenance of heavy machineries.
The duration of the course is generally for two years. |
| F) | Arts and Handicraft Center |
| Set up in 1975, this Center offers a wide range
of courses in brassware, silverware, and bronzeware making. It also
conducts training in cloth-weaving. The courses usually last for three
years. |
| Ÿ |
Civil Service Institute
(CSI) |
|
The Training Unit (now known as CSI) was formed in 1977 under the Establishment Department (now known as Public Service Department) and was restructured later as CSI. Its role is to equip the human resource with competency in accordance with the needs of the public service in Brunei Darussalam. Therefore, its main function is to organize various local training programmes for public servants (Bruneian citizens) based on their needs, objectives, and priorities. Since its inception, CSI has been organizing seminars, workshops, and courses for both public and private sector. Until 1994, its number of participants totalled 25,252. CSI conducts training programmes by inviting local
and overseas experts in the areas of strategic planning, human resource
management, information technology, financial management, action learning,
productivity management, and public sector management. The government
also provides overseas training activities for the members of Brunei’s
Civil Service force. Such training includes short courses, diploma,
and postgraduate qualifications like master’s and Ph.D. at academic
institutions abroad. |
| Ÿ |
KEMUDA |
|
KEMUDA is a pioneering private sector management training institution in Brunei Darussalam. It offers training courses for both private and public sector employees and adopts a need-based approach in designing training programmes for its clients. The major courses organized by KEMUDA include those in project planning, financial management, business communication, information technology management, developing high performance teams, and managerial leadership. Apart from focusing on management training, KEMUDA
also initiates community-oriented programmes, including the free training
of unemployed Bruneians. |
| Ÿ |
In-House Training Programmes |
| A large number of firms in Brunei Darussalam conduct
in-house training programmes for their staff. But in most cases, they
take the form of induction rather than an approach to staff development.
However, large firms like Yoahan, Royal Brunei Airlines, and Brunei
Shell Petroleum are exceptions since they have their own training
centers and their training programmes are more formalized. The case
of Brunei Shell is worth mentioning here. Apart from its regular in-service
training programmes, Brunei Shell is making efforts to develop Brunei
managers by enhancing their professional skills. In the past few years,
Brunei Shell supported a good number of local staff members in obtaining
their professional accounting qualifications. Although the contribution
of multi-national enterprises is common in the fields of management
education and training, nevertheless, Brunei Shell’s approach
to local staff development is worth noting. |
| Ÿ |
OBSERVATION AND POLICY OPTIONS |
| From the above discussion it can be noted that
Bruneian institutions are actively engaged in the country’s human
resource development and have focused on local needs. This has been
considered as one of the positive strengths of Brunei’s education
and training programmes. It should be noted that what the workforce
do must be reflected in their trainings and such reflections have
to be in local contexts. There is a growing body of literature concerning
questions of socio-cultural influences on HRD. There is evidence of
some common views and practices among the workforce in different parts
of the world; nevertheless, there is also proof that in some cases,
the workers’ behavior varies significantly in different countries,
based on the ‘collective mental programing of the people in the
environment.’ Considering this, the integration of Brunei’s
culture in education and training will certainly make these fields
need-oriented. Of course, this is not to suggest that Brunei’s
education and training organizations need no improvement. Any system
warrants continuous evaluation and further improvements. The following
policy options may be considered in further strengthening Brunei’s
HRD in institutions: |
| 1) |
A nationwide need analysis should be carried
out to review the present set of curriculum and academic programmes
in order to identify the need for any changes or introduction of
new programmes. |
| 2) | More incentives should be introduced to encourage
locals to take up professional courses, for instance, in the area
of accounting and finance, which is in great demand. The possibility
of differential salary scale, in this regard, may be considered. |
| 3) | UBD and ITB should establish more linkages
with the private sector in order to provide mutual benefits in the
area of HRD. |
| 4) | More local case studies should be generated.
In this regard, UBD can take a pioneering role. |
| 5) | A medical faculty should be established within
UBD to support the growing need of the health sector. |
| 6) | UBD should consider setting up a full-fledged
Executive Development Unit and chalk out a year-round programme
for continuing executive education. This programme should be well
disseminated to managers of the public and private sector rather
than advertising them on an occasional basis. This way, the managers
can plan to subscribe to courses well ahead, according to their
needs. |
| 7) | It has been observed that in the private
sector, many organizations view training as cost-burden rather than
an investment. This is not a unique case in Brunei Darussalam. Many
countries of the world are faced with this challenge. In order to
overcome this and create a more positive attitude towards management
training, the creation of a national fund on Human Resource Development
is suggested. The fund can be created with subscriptions from the
private sector firms together with the government’s contribution.
In order to ensure an equitable proportion, the subscription can
be based on a fixed percentage of the total salaries paid by the
firm to its employees. Therefore, the firms with large number of
employees would pay more to the fund, while firms with small number
of employees will contribute less. This training fund should be
used to pay back some portion of the cost, when firms send their
staff for training. This might encourage many private firms to culminate
a training culture for management development. |
| 8) | The provision for technical and vocational
education should continue to increase in order to meet the growing
demand for technicians. |
| 9) | An EAGA HRD Forum should be established to
foster closer cooperation among the EAGA institutions in the development
of human resources. |
| 10) | The government may consider to introduce
an Employment Database (EDB) which would serve as a basis for employment
advice and guidance. |
| 11) | More persuasion should be needed to change
the attitudes of educated youth, in order to prepare them for a
competitive and enterprising life such as self-employment. The educational
institutions can take pioneering roles in this regard. |
| 12) | The education and training institutions
should keep an inventory of the graduates’ employment, as a
follow up for providing training for them. |