KUALA LUMPUR − The week-long Skills Empowerment Programme for former national athletes, which began on November 8, has been hailed by the participants, saying that their newly-acquired skills can help them raise income.
Former national track cyclist Azrin Hazmi, who was among the 100 participants of the programme organised by the National Athletes Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) in collaboration with Yayasan Hasanah, said the programme taught them various skills.
Azrin said among the skills they were taught included ways to start a business as well as an online business, product marketing, packaging and steps to obtain financial aid from relevant parties, such as Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) and Tekun Nasional.
“For me, this is definitely a good programme to assist former athletes to increase their skills and income after calling it a day in sports. It’s been over 20 years since I quit sports and now, I run a burger, chicken chop and barbeque business at my stall and online on a part-time basis.
“I joined the frozen food course and learned a lot. I was able to improve my skills on how to cook and process frozen ingredients and I will also get a freezer for my business. It looks like after this I will be going full-time into business,” he said when met after the programme’s closing ceremony here today.
Former national para shuttler Madzlan Saibon, who runs a prosthetic leg business in Bagan Datuk, Perak, echoed the same sentiments.
“I want to thank Yakeb for organising this programme. It’s not just for those who want to start a business, but it also gave us tips and taught us methods to manage our businesses,” said Madzlan, who finished runner-up in the men’s singles WH2 (wheelchair) category at the 2009 and 2011 world championships.
Meanwhile, Yakeb chairman Datuk Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed said each participant was given a key performance indicator index to generate a monthly income of RM600 so that the foundation could help them to further grow their businesses.
“Thank you Yayasan Hasanah for raising the number of participants from 60 last year to 100 this time around, including 15 para athletes. We aim to further increase the participation of para athletes in the coming years. We also added more courses this time − frozen food, bakery, food and beverage and air-conditioning services.
“After this, we will hold meetings with the other parties, such as the Federal Territories Ministry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry, Kuala Lumpur City Hall and other local governments to assist the programme participants to get help setting up stalls as well as obtaining licences and funds to expand their businesses,” he explained.
He said that apart from being given certificates, the participants were also provided with equipment, such as ovens and refrigerators so that they could start a business immediately. – Bernama, November 14, 2021
