Q: Can you describe your current scope of responsibilities and tasks?

A: As human resource director for IBM Malaysia, I am responsible for the well-being of all IBM employees. My job comes with rewarding challenges, especially since I get to help and nurture employees to build a fulfilling career in IBM based on their individual needs. This is done by tapping into the unlimited opportunities available to them within IBM.

In my role, I lead my team to provide innovative solutions to enable us to maximise the contribution of IBMers towards the delivery of IBM’s goals. At IBM, we try to get out in front of the business by building the skills of our existing employees while sourcing for new talents with transferable skills and experience not available within the organisation.



Q: How do you view the current perception that local information and communications technology and ICT-related graduates are not suited to meet industry needs?

A: Fresh graduates today are not attuned to current market and business trends. Learning about the latest technology will not suffice if they do not know how to apply this knowledge to the practical working environment.

However, to do so, they need to know current market trends and understand contemporary business needs. The ideal individual should have a “T-shaped” persona – someone who has deep understanding and broad skill sets.

Technology firms are looking at employees from cross traditional boundaries, which include a combination of technical know-how and business and communication savviness.

Currently, there is a worldwide shift of jobs in the services sector. According to reports by the United Nations, the share of the services sector in global employment has reached 40 per cent, and last year for the first time overtook agriculture as the leading economic sector.

Until recently, there had been a lack of college-level programmes to educate students with skills to support the services marketplace. Academic disciplines were taught in silos.



Q: How can this issue be addressed?

A: To address the demand for multi-disciplinary employees, IBM at a global level has developed a discipline called Services Science, Management and Engineering (SSME), which is being offered by leading universities worldwide.

Despite the global shift towards a services economy, until recently, there had been no concerted effort or formalised educational programme to nurture services professionals and researchers. SSME is an urgent call to action to develop a “science of services”.

SSME addresses an education gap by teaching students an integrated mix of business and technology skills to shape the “T-shaped” persona of graduates. It is a new multi-disciplinary research area and academic discipline that integrates aspects of established fields such as computer science, operations research, engineering, management sciences, business strategy, social and cognitive sciences, and legal sciences.

It includes a study of the evolution, design and operation of service systems, and the measurement or understanding of service productivity, quality, compliance and sustainability.

At the end of the day, we are not telling universities what to do. Universities are open to take direction from us, but they are independent entities running their own shows. What we are doing is working to enhance the curricula so that it becomes a true reflection of what is going on in business today. What universities want from the industry is knowledge that they don’t have.

Universities are superb at the foundational courses. What they want is to make the theoretical, real. They want what they are teaching to come alive by having businesses share direct knowledge.



Q: What are your hopes for ICT – particularly in terms of human capital and sector development – for the country?

A: ICT will remain a growth area here, and most of the new jobs will be in the services sector. By 2010, there will be more than 6.2 million people in Malaysia who will be employed by the services sector, and this will account for 51 per cent, according to a study conducted by Human Resources Ministry, Malaysia.

In the recent Budget 2009 announcement, the Government proposed to extend double deduction to employers sponsoring their employees to pursue postgraduate studies in areas such as ICT, electronics and life sciences. We believe that this is timely for the local economy as more companies seek skilled employees.

Investment in human capital development is critical for improving innovation and ensuring the emergence of a more creative and skilled workforce. Within the ICT industry, the value is moving up the chain. The focus is no longer on products, but on people and skills.

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Qtelmedia’s new deputy MD

Qtelmedia has appointed Bernard Gomez as deputy managing director. He will oversee the operations and delivery of results as well as provide leadership and direction.
Gomez joined the Qtelmedia team as financial controller in March last year, overseeing financial management for its Malaysian and Dubai operations.