Need for 'centres of excellence' to develop HR

Dear Editor,

THIS is with reference to a your story titled "HR pool not enough for development," published in the edition dated June 14, 2011. I agree with the view of Sasha Lennon, director of SGS Economics and Planning, that Brunei needs to develop its human resources in order to achieve its long-term development objectives.

There is no doubt that our economy is currently strong and we are a prosperous nation thanks to the oil resources but this situation is not going to last forever. We must plan for our tomorrow.

We need to invest in our future generation. As Lennon rightly pointed out majority of our students opt for humanities, religious studies or policy studies and most of them take a job in the government sector. This leaves our private sector almost totally dependent on foreign workers. In this situation, the private sector cannot thrive.

We need foreign direct investment for diversification of our economy and development of industry but this is not possible without availability of local skilled work force. This needs to change slowly through skill development, technical education and development of industry.

We need to set up centres of excellence for scientific and technical education so that our future generation is equipped with right skills and right knowledge. This should not be a real problem for a country like ours. If reputed international institutions can open branches and campuses in our neighbouring countries why can't it happen in Brunei? Our government should give incentives to such institutions to open up their branches here.

This will not only result in development of our human resource but would also attract overseas students from South Asia and other developing countries. This way our little abode of peace could turn into a regional education hub. The tourism industry will also benefit from this move and the country's soft image will also be promoted.

Think for tomorrow,

BSB