Modified technician career progression system in a multinational food manufacturing firm in Malaysia

Abstract

This study recommended a framework to guide an organization to successfully implement a technician career progression system, particularly to enable the technicians to become a skilled workforce. In the manufacturing industry, technicians are in the group of heavily relied upon employees. However, research on career progression for this group of employees in the manufacturing industry is limited. A conceptual framework was developed from literature reviews to comprehend the past research. A single case study was conducted in Malaysia's multinational food manufacturing firm with heavy reliance on technicians. A semi-structured interview was conducted involving ten technicians, two supervisors and two system developers. The validity and reliability of the data were obtained from the interview session with different categories of participants. The interview transcriptions were analysed and interpreted using NVivo. Findings from the study identified that the modifications performed on technicians career progression systems were successfully implemented to enable technicians to be promoted. A structured process to acquire the competency skills were established. The performance management process was developed and defined. Technicians achieved employee fulfilment by participating in this career progression system. Sustainable technicians career progression system is achievable provided the organisation continuously embark on the journey to produce a skilled workforce. This study demonstrated that career progression is workable for the technicians' category and potentially could be a medium of employee retention in the food manufacturing industry.