KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project will create up to 70,000 jobs in the delivery of 60 work packages.
The project will also create highly-skilled experts who will be in demand by rail projects locally and abroad.
MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said the mega infrastructure project would create 4,000 jobs that were HSR-specific, 18,000 professional jobs and 48,000 semi-skilled or unskilled jobs.
“We are looking at government programmes, such as the 1Malaysia Training Scheme, and how to channel our raw talents in this project.
“We also plan to get them upskilled to the next level, where they will be marketable in other rail projects not only in Malaysia but also globally.
“The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project will be transformational for businesses, including those outside the customary rail supply chain.
“We are committed to delivering the project with a focus on sustainability, creating new education, training and research and development opportunities,” he said at a briefing yesterday.
Nur Ismal said MyHSR Corp aimed to go the extra mile to create more job opportunities.
“We aim to build not only companies but also expertise, such as engineers and designers, to benefit the country.”
Last month, MyHSR Corp inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with eight universities to develop talent for high-skilled jobs in the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project.
The initiative is also to enhance local talent and position Malaysia as a key regional player in the HSR industry.
Under the MoU, all parties will work together in the development of academic and technical and vocational education and training with the required HSR or rail modules, as well as programmes such as student internship and lecturer attachment, and apprenticeship and training-of-trainers.
Based on the existing strength of local rail companies, there will be opportunities in infrastructure planning, project manage ment and civil works (end-to-end activities), as well as installation, testing and commissioning.