What are the career opportunities available for business students in a technology firm like Schneider Electric? There are plenty, said NUS Business School BBA alumni (BBA 1992) Tommy Leong, who is the Zone President, East Asia & Japan at Schneider Electric.
One would expect the usual graduate with engineering or computing skills to apply for the company. However, Schneider Electric is looking for students with leadership and management potential, he said.
“You don’t have to be trained as an engineer. I am actually a finance major,” said Mr Leong, who was speaking at a recruitment talk organised by the Career Services Office at the Hon Sui Sen Memorial Library Auditorium. The talk was part of the Schneider Electric Exclusive Day 2018 on 24 January 2018.
With a global presence in 100 countries, Schneider Electric is a specialist in power management and automation systems for homes, buildings, data centres and infrastructure.
The firm estimates that the world’s energy consumption is set to grow by more than 50 percent by 2050 due to economic and population growth as well as the advance of technology. As energy costs rise due to demand, Schneider Electric sees opportunities in driving energy consumption efficiency with its technological innovations in energy management and automation.
The company has the view that there are customers in almost every vertical – from a small family business to a sprawling industrial complex, and it needs more than just engineers to drive its growth.
What’s more important for students and young graduates, he said, is to be able to develop one’s leadership and management skills. And with the growing emphasis on governance and sustainability, the right organisation to cultivate the right ethical values, he said.
He added that he started out in a marketing function in the FMCG industry and has since worked in numerous business units in various verticals – an example that one’s career journey is not a set path.
“It’s about how you can make a difference wherever you are at,” he said.
The Schneider Electric Exclusive Day 2018 included workshops where Schneider Electric experts gave participating students an overview of the industry trends in the energy industry. Some 100 students attended Mr Leong’s recruitment talk, also to find out about the various career opportunities available, including the organisation’s graduate programme – Energy Generation Program.