The empowerNCER programme was designed to enhance the skills of the locals to enable them to compete and seize the economic opportunities created in NCER. The programme also addresses the socioeconomic needs of the region, based on existing industry demand. These objectives are realised by providing academic coaching as well as skills and entrepreneurship training for the target group, who mostly come from the B40 group in NCER as well as Orang Asli.The programme is divided into two components, namely, Academic and Skills & Entrepreneurship development.

empowerNCER – Academic

The Academic component will be rolled out in all the four states in NCER, starting with the developed areas. It is designed to enhance the achievement of students by improving their academic and personal development skills. The Academic component of empowerNCER provides a holistic approach to education with emphasis on academic excellence, skill competencies and personal development for students from KIDA and B40 groups, as well as the Orang Asli community.

empowerNCER – Skills & Entrepreneurship

The Skills and Entrepreneurship Training component is designed to provide basic skills and entrepreneurial training for local participants to enable them to increase their household income while supporting the industries in the region. Through this programme, the participants will be trained and empowered to become entrepreneurs or gain employment in the local industries. The target group for this programme consists of KIDA beneficiaries, youths, women, the B40 group and Orang Asli.

This programme involves collaboration with various agencies and organisations to provide training and relevant certification to participants, while engagement with industries are also being undertaken to ensure job placement opportunities for participants as well as buyback arrangements of products and services produced by the participants.

empowerNCER-MyKasih

The empowerNCER-MyKasih programme is a private–public collaboration between NCIA and MyKasih Foundation which provides students in remote rural areas access to the latest learning aids and facilities, as well as food assistance. Fully-funded by the private sector, three components, namely, cashless food aid for students, 21st Century Classroom and Robotic Science, Technlogy, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Learning have successfully been implemented in 10 schools in NCER in 2019, and will be replicated in other schools in the four NCER states.

The empowerNCER-MyKasih programme has shown positive impact in improving the school attendance of participating students and has spurred their interest in STEM, and will be integrated with the empowerNCER-Academic programme.