3 ways to fulfil your JPA scholarship bond

Returning to serve your bond as a JPA scholar has never been easier. Many assume that there is only one way to fulfil their federal scholarship contract, which is to serve in the public sector. Since 2011, an alternative – TalentCorp's Scholarship Talent Attraction & Retention (STAR) initiative has been introduced to give JPA scholars more options when it comes to serving their bonds.

 
If you are a JPA scholar, here are the three options for you to repay or serve your bond.

As per the contract signed between the government and scholars, JPA scholars are required to return to Malaysia (if studying abroad) and join the public service. They would have to report to the Public Service Department (PSD) through the MySELF portal, then apply for a position via the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam (SPA) website. If there is a relevant vacancy, the scholar will be informed and be offered the position.

The Scholarship Talent Attraction & Retention (STAR) initiative is a collaborative effort between Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) and Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) launched in 2011. It is aimed at facilitating JPA scholars to serve their bonds with leading private sector companies in Malaysia. In short, this initiative allows scholars to serve their bonds in the private sector.

Once registered with the STAR, their resumes will be part of a large talent pool database, accessible to top companies such as PwC, Gamuda Berhad, and Petronas, and will be available for these companies to pick and choose a graduate to employ.

What if the scholar is already working, but the company is not yet a STAR Employer? The registration process to be a STAR Employer is easy and once completed, the scholars can continue to work in the company while serving their bonds without any worries.

In any circumstances where the scholar is unable to secure a job with either of the two options above, or find themselves unable to return to the country, the scholar will need to repay the scholarship fund in full. This is required to make up for the loss of talent that the government has invested in. By repaying the fund, the future of another scholar can be secured, for the development of new talent to benefit the country.

The contract signed is a symbol of amanah of the rakyat, thus it is only right for JPA scholars to keep their promise and serve the nation for the development of a better Malaysia.

To find out more about the STAR initiative, please visit www.talentcorp.com.my/star