SC’s investED initiative lifts capital market industry

PETALING JAYA: The Securities Commission’s (SC) first cohort of the flagship capital market graduate programme, investED, has officially graduated on May 27, 2024.

The investED programme is a joint effort between the Finance Ministry, the Higher Education Ministry, the SC, the capital market industry and universities, seeking to improve the employability of graduates and guarantee a steady stream of talent to mitigate the scarcity of competent workers in the capital market.

The three-year programme is expected to improve the capital market knowledge of 9,000 university students and provide job placements for up to 600 graduates in the capital market industry between 2023 and 2025. The first cohort of investED’s leadership programme, which started in August 2023, had attracted over 2,500 applications from fresh graduates.

Among the 200 shortlisted candidates, 169 had graduated after completing a six-month job placement with 53 partner companies. Following this, more than 65% of the trainees were offered employment opportunities with investED’s partners in the capital market industry.

SC chairman Datuk Seri Awang Adek Hussin said the capital market offers a wealth of opportunities, yet many remain unaware of its vast potential.

“Our goal for investED extends beyond education and knowledge. At the core lies a recognition of the need to bridge the gap between academia and industry. We hope that the investED programme would raise awareness of the many career pathways available, while also developing capacity and leadership skills among our trainees,” he said.The graduation ceremony also saw 192 holders of the investED’s foundation programme receive their certificates.

Started in August 2023, this programme provided introductory knowledge and baseline certification on the capital market, completed within two to three months.

Additionally, Awang said the SC had surpassed most of its key performance indicators within the first year of the programme, including the investED Career Talks, which had exceeded expectations by 120% with a total of 24 talks conducted.

“Furthermore, the level of student attendance at these talks surpassed projections, with over 8,000 students in attendance or 286% achievement against our initial target.

“Seven career fairs have also been held, surpassing our target by 116%,” he stated.

Its investED foundation programme had exceeded expectation, which had an encouraging uptake with 2,526 applications – a 216% increase over the SC’s initial objective of only 800 students.

Meanwhile, its leadership programme saw the enrollment of 171 students, achieving 85.5% of its target.

“Although it falls short of the target 200 enrolment, it should be noted some of the graduates have chosen to decline the offers as they received other offers elsewhere.

“All is not lost though, as we lose them to other employers, which in the end will also benefit the country as a whole,” he said.

Moving forward, the SC aims to expand its reach to include more universities and students across the country, especially those in public universities, to ensure that no talent goes untapped.