SHAH ALAM: Talent Corp Malaysia Bhd and Skills Development Fund Corp (PTPK) are partnering each other for the Industry-Driven Talent Acceleration Programme (ID-TAP) to upskill and reskill workers to address the skills gap in the country, with RM7.2 million already approved for the first phase.
This initial phase will benefit 900 workers from 100 companies across Malaysia including small and medium enterprises (SME).
The focus industries include mechatronics, electrical and electronic engineering, big data analytics, and IT as these industries have a growing demand for skilled workers.
At the launch today, Minister of Human Resources V. Sivakumar called on employers to take proactive measures in accelerating their workers’ career paths so that they have the skills needed in the ever-changing workforce.
“The World Economic Forum 2020 has warned that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to a recession in the job market, with as many as 85 million jobs being replaced by robots by 2025. AI is already being used to automate tasks in various industries including manufacturing, healthcare and customer service.
“In the same report it was also stated that, in order to maintain employment in the next two years, 50% of workers will need to be retrained.
“With the advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0, there is an urgent need for us to transform the national workforce into a more skilled workforce to remain relevant. The choice to increase upskilling and reskilling is important for Malaysians at this point, because by 2030, as many as 4.5 million workers may lose their jobs if we do not take any proactive steps in dealing with this issue,” said Sivakumar.
He added that investment trends in Malaysia have taken an encouraging turn as a surge in approved investments across various sectors, including services and manufacturing, bodes well for the nation’s economy.
“However, we need to provide a talent pool and highly skilled workforce to leverage this investment. We should also encourage students to choose the TVET programme to get more talent which in turn can contribute to the development of the country,” he stressed.
TalentCorp Group CEO Thomas Mathew said that the ID-TAP framework is an example of how industry players can drive the skilling and talents they need for now and the future.
“By collating feedback from talents, industries, academia and government, we are able to combine resources and transform our expertise to make a tangible impact on skills development for Malaysia’s economic growth,” he continued.
PTPK CEO Mohd Fathullah Mustafa expressed his appreciation to the participating SSDC who actively reach out to employers to upgrade their workers with in-demand skills.
“The response from employers has been positive and we will discuss to bring ID-TAP to a wider range of talents, especially TVET graduates’ work placements and skills upgrade,” he said.
Source: https://www.thesundaily.my/business/talent-corp-ptpk-team-up-to-upskill-reskill-workers-NE11154999