\"A very important step was made today for our Association when we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, which will see us be at the forefront of professionalizing the seafood development of the aquaculture industry and supply chain in this region,\" said AISP Executive Director, Roy Palmer.
The signing of the MoU with partners STEM States Incorporated (STEMSI) and the Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF) was witnessed by Tan Sri William Mawan Ikom, Minister of Social Development Sarawak, which indicates the importance of the proposed activities relating to the future of social development and education in Malaysia, with a particular emphasis on SCORE and aligning ccience, technology, engineering, mathematics and aquaculture/seafood to Malaysia’s future human resource needs.
Palmer added \"One of our roles will be to develop a plan for the establishment of an international certification program for employees and individuals within the aquaculture and seafood industries and this will commence at an international conference being planned with our partners through the Ministry for Social Development and will take place in Sarawak next year. This event is being held as a continuance of the past KPS Social Transformation Conference and the International STEMfest. The content will cover the requirements of the KPS, SCORE and the greater Sarawak region, such topics to be covered will be Aquaculture/Seafood, Arts and Culture, Sports, Planetariums, Museums as well as others.\"
James Jackman from STEMSI said \"Bringing us all together here today is the need to continue the development of one of the ten high impact areas of SCORE, which in this case is aquaculture and seafood. The development of this high impact area will be kick-started by a partnership between STEM States, the Ministry for Social Development, AwF, the AISP and Zaracon Engineering. The partnership will look to engage local people through a skills, training and education perspective, all the way to a future career path in aquaculture and seafood industry, which encompasses so many opportunities domestically and globally. We are currently involved in an in depth feasibility study in relation to the establishment of an Aqua Learning Centre in Sarawak, potentially the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific Region. The partnership will collaborate with the Halal Hub Unit, a department of the Chief Ministers office, where the partnership will look to utilize the Tanjung Manis SCORE region, allocated to the production of Halal certified food.\"
Khairuddin Abdul Kadir, Malaysia National Secretary for Global STEM States commented \"By collaborating with our partners and engaging government and local people we aim to create a strong foundation for food security and nutrition and develop a world leading facility through the partnership\'s main focus will be ‘true vocational education’ – providing the prospect for local people to learn in a ‘hands on’ fashion, that will, at the same time, provide them with a clear career pathway through to numerous Aqua industry opportunities. The partnership will also provide the pathway to potential future investment in the industry, as by having such a centre in the region will encourage investments by others. The training will be through the implementation of internationally accredited training modules as well as international health, safety and environmental standards, ensuring that a professional approach creates a strong foundation for the future of the industry, Sarawak and Malaysia.\"
