Bank Islam & APU Constructing Digital Talent Pipeline

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (Bank Islam) and Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) officially formalised a mutual working partnership to reinforce the Bank’s digital talent pipeline through a number of strategic initiatives, which include graduate work placements through talent hiring and internship programmes, Bank Islam’s participation in APU’s Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) and allowing the Bank to tap into APU’s expertise to upskill and reskill its employees’ digital capabilities.

The collaboration was formalised on 21 July 2022 through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Mr Iskandar Shah Zulkarnain, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Bank Islam and Mr Mohd Helmy Norman, Chief Financial Officer, APU. Witnessing the event that was held at APU’s campus were Mr Mohd Muazzam Mohamed, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bank Islam and Datuk Parmjit Singh, Chief Executive Officer, APU.

APU is the first private university in Malaysia selected by Bank Islam to formalise such a working relationship.

“The partnership with APU is essential as our view of digitalisation is holistic. Bank Islam’s digital transformation journey is a moving target and constantly evolves with our growth.

The Bank invests not just in enhancing our technology capabilities but also in building our digital talents. We can’t do this alone but always explore ways to enhance our capabilities through partnerships with the best in the digital space in academia and the industry,” said Mohd Muazzam.

“APU is proud to be chosen by Bank Islam and this is evidence of our steadfast commitment to provide high-quality tertiary education with a unique fusion of technology, innovation and creativity that has been well received by industry players,” said Parmjit Singh.

Under this collaboration, Bank Islam aims to take in highly competent, employable, and future-proof professionals from APU to fulfil critical requirements in digital roles. These include IT Architects, Process Consultant, Business Analysts, Organisational Change & Comms, IT Developer, Cloud or Infra Engineer, UI/UX Designer, Data Engineers and many more.

The participation of Bank Islam in APU’s Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) will enable both parties to collaborate in developing and reviewing programme curricula, with leaders from Bank Islam providing timely insights on industry requirements for sustaining the digital pipeline for the bank and the job market generally.

Through a collaboration with Bank Islam Digital Academy, APU will support its digital upskilling and reskilling agenda by offering professional training and certification programmes for Bank Islam’s employees of all levels. This effort aims to fulfil the digital needs crucial for the Bank's digital transformation journey.