Week in Review: A shift is happening

  • Success of companies in creative content, IT and E&E sectors creating positive buzz
  • Parents are slowly coming around to accepting and encouraging their children into these careers

Week in Review: A shift is happeningA SHIFT is happening in Malaysia and parents are slowly coming around to the fact that there are exciting careers to be had for their children in the creative content, IT, and electrical and electronic (E&E) engineering fields.
 
It will take another five years perhaps for the notion to become embedded into their psyche, but I think the process is already happening now, thanks in no small part to the success of industry players.
 
Let me just give you an example from the creative content industry and where the same scenario definitely applies to IT and E&E engineering too. 
 
At a recent demo day, the creative content school of a university hosted, I talked to a parent named Mohan (not his real name). He admitted he was very wary when his son wanted to get into the games industry, but after talking to me, an industry player, and faculty members, became more open to the idea as he saw that the job scope for his son was global and not just restricted to Malaysia.
 
And if he had gone for last night's Malaysian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (MVCA) dinner and awards night, then he would have realized that there are already world-class and emerging world-class companies in Malaysia that would be hungry to hire his son.
 
With a showbiz theme for the night, Leon Tan, CEO of Tripod Entertainment Group; Norman Halim, executive president of KRU Studios; and Hasnul Hadi Samsudin, senior manager of Rhythmn & Hues; all shared with the audience, the quality and breadth of work they were doing and the kind of talent they had which produces world-class work on a daily basis. 
 
What was exciting was that all had exciting plans for the future and that calls for more A-class talent. Who would have thought that our creative content industry needed such top talent, even five years back?
 
But today they do, and their high standards and expectations automatically raise the bar for the whole value chain, starting with the universities that develop the raw talent into a semi-refined stage and then the industry, ranging from production houses to FX studios to games companies that sharpen the talent.
 
Expectations from the talent is higher too, in terms of the type of work they want to be involved in and where they hope to go in their careers. Working in the Los Angeles studios of Tripod, the New York distribution arm of KRU, the Dubai film studios of Les' Copaque. Why not?
 
In fact, I told Mohan that his son would probably have the option of spending a fair amount of his career in the creative industry working overseas. I am pretty sure Mohan's son is already enrolled in the games program and may just come up with a killer game based on War of the Worlds: Goliath. 
 
Do you agree with my optimism or do you think I am inhaling too much hot air from the creative industry's champions? 

Previous Installments:

Week in Review: Fueling the dreams of start-ups
 
Week in Review: Penang no longer just about MNCs
 
Week in Review: We’re all going to be watching Matt Chandran

Week in Review: Success begets success

Week in Review: Data centers, unsung heroes and digital economy drivers

Week in Review: Start-up and funding ecosystem questions

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