Riot (front right) and his deputy Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib (front second right) at the launching of the Northern Territory Skills Tour 2014 in Putrajaya. — Bernama photo
PUTRAJAYA: The Ministry of Human Resources is targeting to produce 35,000 skilled workers accredited by Gazelle Group, by the end of this year.
Its minister, Datuk Richard Riot Jaem, said the group will give accreditation to skilled workers in the country through the ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ (RPL) programme.
“Through this programme, skilled workers who do not have a certificate will receive a certificate of recognition based on experience so that they can ask for a higher salary based on experience,” he said after the launch of the Northern Territory Skills Tour 2014 here yesterday.
The Gazelle Group, a consortium of four leading vocational institutes based in the United Kingdom offering skills-based training, has the experience in implementing RPL there. Riot said the programme is also to achieve the ministry’s target of producing 55 per cent of skilled workers by 2020, thus placing Malaysia in the high-income nation status.
“Currently, the percentage of skilled workers is 28 per cent and our target is to increase it to 33 per cent by 2015 and eventually to 55 per cent by 2020,” he said.
Riot said the ministry was focusing on students keen on skills training to pursue four, five and six levels namely diploma to degree through an institute prepared by the ministry itself. — Bernama