On 13th November 2019, Women in Rail Malaysia in collaboration with the Johor State Education Department and FINCO Reads organized a Career Talk to 90 secondary school students from across the state of Johor in Johor Bahru. Ms.Natasha Zulkifli, the Founder Director of Women in Rail Malaysia initiated the talk with a brief introduction on Women in Rail Malaysia and its objectives. She gave the students an overview of the rail industry in Malaysia. She also advised the students to work hard to be successful in their life and to be wise in choosing the right friend as well as someone who could lift them up when faced with challenges in life. Ms.Natasha also advised the students to be selective when choosing a life partner because the right life partner should support you to become more successful and encourage you to reach greater heights.
The second speaker was Ms Mutiara Zainal Farid, the General Manager of Land Acquisition, YTL Construction who spoke on the technical job opportunities available in the rail industry. Ms.Mutiara talked about her career path starting from her schooling days to university and current work life. She shared with the students her past experiences and tips on what she did to be where she is now. She quoted that “It is okay to fail; as long as we stand up again”.
Mr. Hazwan Alif Abdul Rahman, the CEO of CMC Group Sdn Bhd was the third speaker. Mr.Hazwan, a member of Women in Rail Malaysia shared with students the company background of CMC Group Sdn Bhd and technical job opportunities in the rail industry. He also gave a detailed explanation on the career ladder of an engineer. His session also focused, on the major trends that shape the future of the rail industry. He advised the students that the world will never be slower or simpler than it is today, hence we need to move forward, quickly adapt to change and become more digitally inclined.
The final speaker was Ms.Hidayah Hassan, a Corporate Strategist from CMC Group Sdn Bhd was also awarded the Women in Rail Malaysia Best Volunteer for the year 2019. She told the students about her educational background, career and active involvement in Women in Rail Malaysia. She encouraged the students to get out of their comfort zone, be passionate about learning and to be bold in facing challenges in life. In addition, she also coaxed the female students to succeed in a male-dominated field, focusing on practical and social skills such as persuasion, emotional intelligence, and educating others.
The students were percipient, interactive and good listeners. A representative from the Sultan Ibrahim Girls School, Johor suggested Women in Rail Malaysia come to speak at her school and carry out similar engagements and career talks in the near future. With Women in Rail Malaysia’s strategic objective being to ensure a quality talent pool comes through and strengthens the Malaysian rail industry, these talks to school children form an integral part to exposing the young to not only the domestic rail ecosystem, but also stimulate their interest for personal self-improvement and advancement.