Taylor-Ed For Success

Taylor-Ed For Success - All graduates aspire to land a job once they finish tertiary education. But in today’s ultra-competitive job market, employers do not just look at one’s qualification, but also at one’s attitude, aptitude and readiness to join the workforce.

Taylor’s University  moulds individuals who are able to ‘hit the ground running’ – individuals who are ready to face the challenges in the real world and equipped with the right tools to succeed.

This former graphic communication design student who graduated in 2016 is now working for the award-winning brand activation agency, Geometry Global Malaysia. The company won gold in the Best Integrated Marketing Campaign category at the 2017 Dragons of Asia awards ceremony for their work with Mamee-Double Decker.

This was certainly no coincidence as Yap himself won the prestigious Design & Art Direction (D&AD) London 2017 Wood Pencil award in the New Blood Category for young creative designers.

With the combination of acquiring the relevant knowledge at Taylor’s University and self-determination, Yap came up with the winning entry entitled Hungry to Learn, which combines the learning process via food packaging that wowed the judges at D&AD for its originality and social impact. You can view his winning entry at http://fal.cn/uI2Q.

According to the young designer, having completed his degree at Taylor’s University certainly gave him a leg up.

“I cannot ignore that my four years of study at The Design School has helped me in terms of design ideation, fuelled by my passion for design, which I honed further by attending talks from industry leaders like AKQA, Wieden+Kennedy and DesignBridge.

“Thanks to D&AD, I have fed my hungry mind with loads of impressive insights and projects done by amazing people from the industry,” he said.

By far, Yap is not the only job-ready graduate produced by Taylor’s University. Among its long line of achievers is another shining light – culinary arts student Lai Jia Yi – who will only graduate next December, but is already creating waves in many cooking competitions locally and abroad.

This precocious 21-year-old talent from the university’s School of Culinary Arts and Food Studies won gold in the Cooking Category at the 11th Asean Skills Competition last year and silver in the Global Chef Category at the Culinaire Malaysia 2017, held recently in Kuala Lumpur where he was up against industry professionals. 

Having attained his advanced diploma in patisserie and gastronomic cuisine, the final-year student has also made the country proud by winning bronze at the WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last month.

And he is not done yet! Come January, Lai will once again pit his skills against the best from over 50 countries at the Young Chef Olympiad in India.

Besides learning his trade at Taylor’s University, the aspiring chef credits one of his lecturers, Chef Farouk Othman, for perfecting his culinary skills, which had enabled him to win the many accolades.

“I really appreciate Chef Farouk for mentoring me, especially for giving me good and constructive advice during the past two years.”

With a string of awards under his belt, Lai will definitely not have trouble finding employment when he graduates next year. In fact, he has set his eyes on a career abroad.

“I did my internship in Toulouse, France, at one of the Michelin star restaurants called Py-r, and I intend to return there once I graduate,” said the confident young chef. 

A world of opportunities has opened up for Yap, Lai and thousands of other graduates who have benefited immensely from a Taylor’s University education – and there’s a great chance, you could be next.