Penang Skills Development Centre - Founder Member – Elected Member Management Council
Setting / Challenge
During the 1980’s & 1990’s competition for Human Resources was fierce in Penang. Employee turn-over was tremendous (cases of 50%-60% churn per year were more rule than exception). As a result companies were loth to invest in (in-house) training to upgrade their employee’s skills
Solution
A number of companies (including B. Braun) joined the Penang Development Corporation in founding a joint training centre in 1989. The idea behind it was: if we all join hands in training our employees the churn will not really result in a wasted investment, after all, you benefit from the training I gave my former employee, while I benefit from your efforts with your former staff member.
The PSDC’s Management Council, setting strategy and budget, was in principle made up of the Managing Directors of the elected companies, while their Human Resource Managers made up the Working Committee that actually devised the training courses and proposed investment in relevant machinery (although these were often donated by the members). I was the only exception, being both member of the Management Council and the Working Committee, a function I have held throughout my employment with B. Braun, actively assisting the PSDC in formulating its second 5-year plan.
The success of our approach can be seen from the fact that meanwhile a further 10 of Malaysia’s 13 states have set up their own skills centres.
As a nice aside: During my tenure as Human Resource Manager I managed to transform B. Braun in the company with the, in Penang, lowest yearly employee turn-over: 14%.
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