Education & local talent development most impactful for building national competitiveness

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 September 2015 – Shell Malaysia is convinced that education and local talent development remains two of the most impactful levers for building Malaysia’s national competitiveness. The company stated this while awarding scholarships to 35 talented Malaysian tertiary-level students and committing RM12 million to this year’s Shell Malaysia scholarship programme. The award ceremony was graced by Tan Sri Ali Hamsa, Chief Secretary to the Government.

Speaking about Shell’s complementary role in the nation’s capacity building agenda, Iain Lo, Chairman, Shell Malaysia said, “We recognise that as Malaysia advances towards becoming a high income economy, it will need a larger pool of professionals who are highly qualified and able to make the country more competitive.”

Shell has been awarding educational scholarships for over 40 years and in that time, invested RM400 million worth of education assistance to the nation’s best and brightest. Elaborating on the awards, Lo said that the annual scholarships are the company’s biggest CSR contribution towards developing Malaysian talent.

This year’s 35 scholarship recipients, selected from over 3,000 applicants from across the country, will pursue their undergraduate programmes both locally and internationally in engineering and science-based disciplines. They will join 153 other Shell Malaysia scholars in universities here and abroad.

Shell scholarship recipient Sabreenna Djuli, who hails from Sarawak and will be studying Chemistry with Industrial Experience at Bristol University in the United Kingdom, said, “I am grateful for the opportunity that the Shell Scholarship provides me with; to be able to complete my education and thus pursue my career subsequently. This is a great blessing to my family and I.”

Another Shell scholarship recipient, William Tai from Sabah, will pursue his degree in Civil Engineering at Cambridge University. He said, “The assistance from Shell Malaysia will certainly go a long way in helping me achieve my career aspirations! I am looking forward to pursue my studies at one of the world’s most renowned educational institutions and I thank Shell for helping me get there.”

Lo acknowledged that talent and leadership development has become a key lever to business success as the environment becomes more competitive, and paid tribute to the Shell alumni who continue to make positive headlines through their contributions as national and corporate leaders.

Besides the scholarships, Shell’s student programmes include the Shell Eco-Marathon, a global competition where students design, build, and drive the most energy-efficient car. The company also runs Shell Ideas360, an international challenge for students to develop game-changing ideas to tackle Energy, Water and Food issues.

Shell participates in several of Malaysia’s human capital initiatives. Through the “30-percent Club Malaysia”, Shell pledged to increase the number of women in leadership/Board positions.  Shell is also participant to the “CEO Faculty Programme” introduced during the launch of the National Education Blueprint, committing 30 hours of lecture a year to university students.

Since 1989, Shell has been running a technical training programme in Sabah and Sarawak called ProjekLINK to meet the needs of highly-skilled oil & gas welders in Malaysia. This training, an effort that supports the Malaysian government’s aspirations to enhance employability through technical and vocational training, has produced qualified welders who today are in high demand in the industry.

Shell Malaysia is also strongly committed to developing the talent of its women employees and leaders. The company maintains a Women’s Career Development Programme (WCDP) to improve women representation in leadership and a Senior Women Connect (SWC) initiative, which is a global Shell network for senior women leaders to support each other on specific leadership challenges.

Shell collaborates with Talent Corporation Malaysia to attract highly qualified and expert professionals who are currently working overseas to return home and help elevate the oil and gas industry in Malaysia. Shell also commits its senior women leaders to Talent Corporation Malaysia’s Mentor Mentee Programme for Women in Leadership.

For further Media Enquiries, please contact:

Mr. Leigh Wong, Head of Media Relations & Issues Management

Cell: +60 12 525 8029, Email: leigh.wong@shell.com

About Shell

Shell is a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology and is working to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, infrastructure, and by developing new energy sources while addressing the impact on the environment. Malaysia is one of Shell’s heartlands. The history of Royal Dutch Shell in Malaysia started more than 120 years in Miri, Sarawak. Shell currently has a strong market presence in the upstream and downstream sector in Malaysia.