A well-structured curriculum attracted Heng Charng Yee to Tyco's Asia Management Trainee (AMT) programme.
Ms Heng, who is from Malaysia and one of six Tyco management trainees under the company's talent development programme, said she had set her sights on an MBA after graduating with a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering. 'But the AMT programme offered both a technical and a business perspective. It was just like an MBA,' she said.
Another Tyco management trainee, Eddy Leung from Hong Kong, found the programme beneficial. 'I now have a good understanding of the operations of the entire company, of the different departments and processes. My communication and operational skills have also improved,' he said.
Mr Leung, who will become a sales manager at Tyco when he completes the programme in another two months, said that key to the success of the programme was the strong support from all the company's senior managers. 'They gave up their valuable time to share success stories with us. They would also send us e-mails.
'I have learned to develop my beliefs and to think positively. My mentor said that failure always happens when you give up. If you persevere, then you will achieve success in whatever you do,' he said.
'Any time there was a problem, [management] would help us. Every month we would rotate around the departments and the managers gave me a lot of assistance and good advice, teaching me all the best practices.'