Year Two CXO Apprentices set to make their impact on Digi

• Digi CXO Apprentice Programme is the ultimate  career kick-starter that has already successfully shaped aspiring talent into potential organisational leaders across the different divisions of the company
• For 2017, 7 apprentices were selected from a more diverse pool of candidates for a full-year direct mentorship programme with top management team members from Digi

SHAH ALAM, 25 August 2017 - With Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (Digi) progressively closing in on its ambition of being their customers favourite partner in digital life by 2020, a group of seven young and talented individuals are poised to contribute their ideas and actions over the next 12 calendar months to turn ambition into reality, not just for the company but for themselves as well through the Digi CXO Apprentice Programme.

"It was a challenge to shortlist candidates because they were all well rounded in terms of their academic achievements, internship experience and their involvement in extracurricular activities. This year, we used a game based assessment which gave us an additional data point on filtering the candidates via an aptitude test," said Haroon Bhatti, Digi's Chief HR Officer. "It is important for us to look beyond academic success and to be able to assess each candidates abilities in a way that allows us to see their potential in an everyday business environment. Ultimately, we want every candidate who applies for the programme to have the best possible opportunity to be selected."

Applications for this year's CXO Apprentice Programme hit a record high of 1,100 applications, 25% more than its inaugural launch in 2016 as a result of heightened awareness of the programme among its key target audience. Greater engagement from local universities also resulted in a more diverse pool of candidates going through to the Freedom Challenge to conceptualise, validate, prototype and pitch the next MyDigi product or service to a panel of judges.  

Seven apprentices have now been matched to their respective CXO mentors and they can look forward to first-hand exposure to high-level decision-making, dealing with real business challenges and the power to innovate in a culture that enables the freedom to inspire the next digital experiences for millions of customers in Malaysia.

     Name    Age    University    Background    CXO Attached To        Amanda Mariko Sakai    23    University of Nottingham    Mechanical Engineering    Kesavan Sivabalan,       Chief Technology Officer            Bryan Hong Tiang Suan    23    Sunway University    Marketing    Loh Keh Jiat, Chief Marketing Officer          Daryl Ong Wi Hsien    22    Asia Pacific University    Software Engineering    Praveen Rajan Nadarajan, Chief Digital Officer          Khaled Amru Ambok Chening    25    San Francisco State University    International Business    Albern Murty, Chief Executive Officer          Nur Azrin Afiqah Binti Badri    23    Middlesex University London    Biology    Haroon Bhatti, Chief Human Resource Officer          Rachel Koh Chung Man    22    INTI International College Subang    Finance & Economics    Nakul Sehgal, Chief Finance Officer          Rachel Lee Ke Ying    22    University of London    Law    Eugene Teh, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer      

The crux of the program lies in the one-on-one mentorship that apprentices garner with their respective CXOs. "Having a mentor that can answer questions you can't find on the Internet, and share their personal experiences with you, can fast track your learning curve years ahead. A mentor can help you to validate your ideas quickly and strengthen your confidence to see things through to completion when you're not quite sure how to move forward," explained Haroon Bhatti, Digi's Chief HR Officer.

Each apprentice will have a unique experience of their time at Digi, based on their respective educational backgrounds and a mental checklist of items that they want to achieve. "The CXO Apprenticeship program is one of the transformative ways in which Digi has found success in developing our future talent and filling the leadership pipeline. When candidates enter the program, they are able to set and define the impact that they want to have on the organization in the 12 months that they are with the company."

After 12 months, most apprentices find their niche within the organisation - Wendy Liang, the CEO's Apprentice has moved to Consumer Sales to manage the Malaysian segment. Justin Yong, the CIO's Apprentice has joined the Corporate Affairs division to work on Digi's transformation journey while Wan Nur Alia is now in the Digital HR team, creating products to digitalise HR processes for other companies. When asked about the impact that they had on the organisation during their apprenticeship, Year One Apprentice Andrea Ong, believed that her energy and motivation rallied team dynamics when it came to collaborative exercises such as brainstorming sessions. For Wendy Liang, she was able to affect a positive change on the business when she dived into a project for the Prepaid segment during her time as a Year One Apprentice, and this consequently shaped her decision to move into Consumer Sales.

For now, the seven Year Two Apprentices have an exciting 12 months ahead of them, to help shape the organisation through their ideas and action, passion and aspirations and add their voices to a company that is moving towards a digital future.

Submissions to apprentice with Digi are open until 9 June 2018. For more on Digi CXO Apprentice and to apply, click here.