November 28, 2022 – Walta Engineering Sdn Bhd (Walta) hosted an agreement exchange ceremony today at Plaza WCOE at Batu Kawan Industrial Park, celebrating the expansion of Walta Centre of Excellence (WCOE) with the continued support from Penang state government, via Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and InvestPenang.

WCOE is a corporate skills development as well as Technical & Vocational Training (TVET) centre. To date, over 1,400 total participants have attended corporate skills training at WCOE, and over 110 total TVET graduates in the area of Industrial Automation and Precision Machining.

In March 2022, PDC has entered into a 15 years Lease Agreement with Walta for their expansion plan to develop a building adjacent to the existing Batu Kawan SME Centre. The new building will be used for TVET Advance Machining Lab and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Fab Lab, which are poised to contribute in building a healthy talent pipeline for the industries.

Witnessing the lease agreement exchange between PDC’s CEO, Dato’ Aziz bin Bakar and WCOE’s CEO, Mr. Moey Lip Seng, the Chief Minister of Penang, Right Honourable Mr. Chow Kon Yeow stressed the urgent need to nurture talent for jobs of the future. “The state remains committed to deepening and widening the talent pool in Penang through various initiatives to attract strategic investments. Aside from supporting TVET centres such as WCOE, some of the ongoing initiatives include Penang Internship Subsidy Programme (PISP) that offers wage subsidy to local companies for hiring interns, Penang Future Foundation that provides scholarships for the qualifying students, affordable housing for knowledge workers as well as constant engagements with industry players and institutions of higher learning to ensure the readiness of talent in workplace.”

On a similar note, Mr. Moey shared that, “In-line with Penang’s government initiative, WCOE is currently working with our International Collaboration Partner for STEM initiative, and will work together with relevant agencies for the roadmap to advocate STEM education in schools – from promoting the interests in STEM to systematically incorporating STEM into school curriculum, and support teachers training in STEM via ‘Learning Thru Making’ pedagogy. Investing over RM10 million in our Teaching Factory, WCOE is committed to ensure our students do not encounter mismatch challenges when they enter the workforce.”

Also attended the agreement exchange ceremony is the Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang, Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon.

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About Penang Development Corporation
The Penang Development Corporation (PDC) was established in 1969 as the leading development agency for the Penang State Government. PDC has been tasked to spearhead the socio-economic growth, create employment opportunities and improve the quality of life in Penang. PDC’s main activities include the development of industrial parks, townships and affordable housing. Since its inception, PDC’s strategies in industrial and housing development have enabled Penang to position itself as a leading industrial, tourism and services hub in the region.

About InvestPenang
InvestPenang is the Penang State Government’s principal agency for promotion of investment. Its objectives are to develop and sustain Penang’s economy by enhancing and continuously supporting business activities in the State through foreign and local investments, including spawning viable new growth centres. To realize its objectives, InvestPenang also runs initiatives like the SMART Penang Centre (providing assistance to SMEs), Penang CAT Centre (for talent attraction and retention) and i4.0 seed fund (a catalyst for the start-up ecosystem). For more information, please visit https://investpenang.gov.my/ and follow InvestPenang’s social media channels: Facebook ; LinkedIn.

About Walta Centre of Excellence
Walta Centre of Excellence Sdn Bhd (WCOE) is a Corporate Skills Development as well as Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Centre which focuses on building and sustaining the talent pipeline for the industry through industrial-relevant training, as well as providing upskilling and career enhancement programmes for existing professionals. WCOE emphasize “Teaching Factory” method for its TVET courses, which focus mainly on Industrial Automation and Precision Machining. It is located at Plaza WCOE, Batu Kawan which also houses an extensive cafeteria with a wide variety of cuisines and provides shared business facilities to the BKIP Community. With easy-access, free parking and conducive environment, Plaza WCOE has indeed become the Community Hub in BKIP.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Yeoh Bit Kun/ Ooi Phei Wen
bitkun@investpenang.gov.my / pheiwen@investpenang.gov.my
InvestPenang