Rise in demand for local expertise
By Rosli Abidin Yahya 

The global outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) had caused for local lecturers and trainers to be much in demand towards conducting courses. Training consultant establishments are now scouring for the few skilled trainers in Brunei Darussalam in various fields towards their needs to conduct courses, since foreign trainers are increasingly hard to come by.

Training has always been considered as vital in the shaping of human capital amidst the advancement of the knowledge-based economy and globalisation.

As such, the demand for training is high in the Sultanate. Therefore such human development courses were usually conducted mostly by foreign lecturers for the private sector as well as for the public sector.

In the zest to continue the development of more knowledge workers within the society and the business fraternity, some local establishments were forced to search for local talents in conducting training, as people have now become increasingly wary of SARS.

"Our company specialises in training in order to increase the knowledge base, to invest in educating and training people, and to take advantage of new technologies for acquiring and disseminating knowledge," said a manager of a local training establishment in Gadong.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin