ST Rubaneswaran CEO of Knowledgecom
I started working in the company at the age of 24 but, after a few years, it was in deep trouble, with MYR1.7 million in debt and looking to shut its doors. However, I was convinced that the business had potential. Though we were in the red, the company had a great track record with our clients in technology training and I believed that technology’s growth was limitless. Going on that gut feeling, I came up with a plan and said: “Hey, why don’t you let me take over the company?†The shareholders took a look and agreed to give me a chance.
So, I started the new Knowledgecom in 2008 and the first task was to stop the bleeding. We had to keep things lean, trying as hard as possible to deliver training programmes and maximise profits. The first eight months were tough, but we eventually secured a few deals and licences. Our first big break was obtaining an international license by SAP (Systems, Applications & Products) as a training partner, and the first in providing online training for SAP. From there, we grew bigger and, once we started making profits, we used them to clean the wound, clear the debts. It took us about three tireless years to break even and, finally, in 2012, we recorded a net profit of MYR1 million. The following year, we were acquired by a listed company and we’ve grown about 500 per cent since.
Knowledgecom provides training in technology, but now we’re now specifying on technologies in Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0). This is the future and it will change mankind’s lives. For example, one of the greatest technologies in IR 4.0 is IoT (Internet of Things), and we can soon expect to see microchips in daily objects that communicate with each other, transferring data that are then analysed and used to create predictions. We train companies and services that produce IR 4.0 products and we train the users, people who ask: “Why do I need IR 4.0 in my life?†We teach them how they can use IR 4.0 technology to make their lives and businesses better, faster and more efficient.
We launched IR 4.0 training for the nation last year with 26 Centre of Excellence & Technology (COET) sites across 11 states. These sites are a mix of universities, polytechnic schools and state departments that allow us to train not only the current workforce, but the future one as well. The current workforce would include companies in manufacturing, automobile, production and mining, where it’s mainly the IT personnel who come in to assess how they can integrate IR 4.0 technology into their respective companies. We are looking to expand to 40 COET sites to cover the entire nation this year, ensuring that every single person in the country has access to IR 4.0 training.
Our goal is to equip the country with IR 4.0 so that every Malaysian is able to use it in every single aspect of their lives. This will also eliminate Malaysia’s dependency on low-skilled foreign labour as labour-intensive tasks become automated. Local workers will benefit as they are upgraded to mid-level skilled positions, thus increasing employment for Malaysians. At the end of the day, we want to create a fully IR 4.0-savvy nation.
ST Rubaneswaran was the EY Emerging Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Malaysia.
