UPSKILLING UMPA STAFF THROUGH UMPA BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TRAINING
A 12-session training was successfully conducted for 30 UMP Advanced executive staff. This training, 'Let's Communicate: Effective Business Communication for Executives (EBC4E)' was organized by the Training and Consultancy Unit, Centre for Modern Languages, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP).
The sessions were taught by two language instructors, Hjh Noor Azlinda Zainal Abidin, and Ms. Hamizah Zahari. The training began with the business writing slots by Ms Hamizah for 6 sessions and continued with Hjh Noor Azlinda, who was the speaking instructor for 6 sessions. The face-to-face sessions were scheduled for two hours, weekly from August until December 2022.
The training was proposed by UMP Advanced to upskill executive officers in business communication. Dr Umi Kalsom Masrom, the Training and Consultancy Unit coordinator together with UMP Advanced personnel and EBC4E trainers structured 12 sessions plan to achieve the aims of the training. UMP Advanced had once organized a similar training in 2015. However, it caters to general English communication. The 12 sessions were conducted as planned.
In the writing slots, trainees were introduced to writing business documents. The activities expanded from the fundamentals of writing mechanics to cultivating professional writing tone and style.
Participants were trained to draft purposeful, informative, and professional documents commonly used in the workplace setting. Among the activities carried out were exchanging work emails, determining correct phrases in business letter writing, identifying common errors in minutes of meetings and drafting a business proposal. As motivation, trainees engaged in gamified groups and individual tasks.
The speaking slots were then conducted after the writing slots ended. Topics presented were small talk, group discussion, meetings, presentation, interpersonal communication and intercultural communication. Not only inputs were given, but the participants were also encouraged to exchange their ideas on issues related to the English language and communication and share their experiences.
Throughout the activities, it was seen that the participants enjoyed the sessions as games, role plays, and group discussions were conducted during the training. Overall, they have given excellent commitment and participated actively in all sessions.
It is hoped that the participants will be able to utilize the knowledge gained and use them in their daily conversations, especially at the workplace as practice requires perseverance and commitment from everyone. Creating an atmosphere or setting for English Language practice would somehow help the participants to continue using the language and apply the skills learnt. An English Day or an English corner could be a good start to ensure the skills learnt in the training sessions are applied.
We hope that the participants have benefited a lot from the training sessions. Looking forward to more training sessions in the future with UMPA!
Prepared by: Noor Azlinda Zainal Abidin and Hamizah Zahari
