BANGI: Malaysia's pool of Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) holders and certified Financial Risk Managers (FRM) is still significantly low at 800 and 93 holders in comparison to Singapore at 4,000 and 850 respectively.
Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said the Bumiputera CFA and FRM holders in particular, are lagging behind as they account for only 115 CFA and 15 FRM holders.
"As Malaysia moves towards becoming a developed nation, the country is indeed facing a talent shortage to cater for the high-income economy which is a pre-requisite for all developed nations.
"There is a need for a concerted effort to accelerate human capital development among youths especially in critical professions to meet the requirements of an advanced nation.
"The Bumiputera talent pool in the financial sector is definitely insufficient and relatively low in relation to the constant growth and demand of the sector. We need more Bumiputeta CFA and FRM holders to address these imbalances," he said during his speech at the Finance, Banking and Investment Summit, here, today.
Syed Saddiq said with the emergence of global megatrends such as disruptive technologies, shift in demographics toward greater urbanisation and ageing population, it is crucial for Bumiputera participation in skilled and professional occupations to be increased.
"The Bumiputera workforce also face difficulties in securing jobs due to several factors such as poor interpersonal skills and English language proficiencies.
"Inadequate financial strength and inability to meet the requirements by financial institutions have further hindered Bumiputera's capability to own financial and non-financial assets," he added.
The Summit is themed "Trade War: Winners and Losers" organised by Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.
The foundation also called on young graduates especially those from non-traditional fields such as mathematics, actuarial science, economics and statistics to venture into these fields by entering investment and commercial banks, asset management firms, hedge funds, credit agencies and insurance firms.