KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must work alongside its Asean counterparts to attract, nurture and sustain a steady stream of highly-skilled and diverse talent pool.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said this needed to be done to continually attract professionals, skilled workers as well as investors.
"Since the mid-20th century, Malaysia has received investments from top high-tech industries from all around the world beginning with the 'Eight Samurais in Penang' - Intel Corporation, Hewlett-Packard (now Keysight Technologies and Agilent Technologies), Robert Bosch, AMD, Litronix (now OSRAM), Hitachi (now Renesas), Clarion and National Semiconductor.
"Today, Malaysia is hosting global tech players such as Nvidia, Micron, Infineon, Geely, Rongsheng, Microsoft, Google, Bytedance, AWS and more with over RM30 billion in investments," said Sim when opening the inaugural Asean Skills Forum (ASF) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) today.
The forum is organised by theHuman Resources Ministry through the
Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp.
Also present were the ministry's secretary-general Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof, ILO Skills and Employability Branch chief Srinivas B. Reddy, HRD Corp chairman Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid, and HRD Corp chief executive Datuk Shahul Dawood.
About 200 delegates from 16 countries, including the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, India and Austria are attending the forum.
The forum focuses on discussions about harmonising skills development strategies across the region as Malaysia prepares to assume the Asean chairmanship in 2025.
Delegates have also proposed that next year be designated as the Asean Year of Skills (Ayos) with programmes expected to kick off in January.
The ministry said it will spearhead Ayos through HRD Corp, aiming to drive numerous skills development programmes and activities throughout the region for the year.
Meanwhile, Shahul said with a population of over 690 million and a total labour force of 340 million, Asean holds a strategic position in the global labour market. He said the region's workforce has the potential to drive regional and global economic growth.
As such, Asean member nations must address key challenges affecting the region's labour market, including formalising the informal sector, youth unemployment, gender inequality, brain drain, social protection and skills development.
Shahul said Ayos aims to address these challenges by supporting sustainable growth and competitiveness, bridging skills gaps and ensuring that the Asean workforce meets industry needs.
"This will be achieved through focused training programmes and continuous upskilling, preparing individuals for new job opportunities."
Ayos will also facilitate regional talent exchange, allowing skilled professionals to move across Asean nations, helping to share knowledge and address local skill shortages while boosting collaboration and innovation.
Sim later announced key enhancements to the HRD Corp Allowable Cost Matrix, a guide for registered employers and training providers on the allowed claimable cost, maximum claims and claim eligibility for different types of training programmes through the Human Resource Development Levy.
The enhancements include allowing for course fees to be claimable based on hourly rates instead of the previous half-day or full-day rates. This will enable employers to take advantage of shorter training programmes, such as professional development courses and flexible micro-credential courses.
HRD Corp will also raise the ceiling for course fees to up to RM1,500 per hour or RM10,500 per day, from the previous RM6,000 per day, to enable employers to provide more high-quality and high-value training programmes for their employees.