KUCHING: Ministry of Human Resources will act in line with the Second Strategy under the Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP) which is to support growth through innovation to achieve high income status by the year 2020.
“Currently only 23 per cent of the Malaysian workforce are highly skilled,” said deputy minister Senator Datuk Maznah Mazlan.
She said the country’s Gross Domestic Income (GDI) per capita is expected to increase to RM38,845 and the unemployment rate to decrease to 3.1 per cent by the year 2015.
Speaking at the Excellence Services Award 2009 held at Auditorium Institut Latihan Perindustrian in Kota Samarahan yesterday, she said a lot needed to be done by the ministry to increase the composition of highly skilled to at least 37 per cent under the 10MP.
“Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) will be brought into the mainline to fulfil the government’s objectives to not only produce a highly skilled workforce but also a workforce that is technically excellent with wholesome personality,” she said.
Maznah said to upgrade TEVT, the government has announced that the Skills Development Department/Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK) would become an agency in developing and confirming the quality of TEVT co-curriculum.
“HRM staff must upgrade the service quality and improve the present system to ensure that all the programmes planned run smoothly,” she stressed.
Malaysia Skills Certificate will also be awarded to at least 60,000 workers per year to recognise their knowledge, skills and working experience through the implementation of Previous Achievement Recognition.
All these steps are believed to give more exposure on skills training to the people and select TEVT as their first choice in the future.
“I believe the HRM staff with the spirit of 1Malaysia and strong commitment will join forces to fulfil their responsibility in implementing the transformation plan to achieve a developed nation with high income, resilience and competitiveness to enhance the prosperity of the nation,” she said.
Maznah said Sarawak was one of five states in the country identified for the development.
With the development of Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy (SCORE), more skilled and semi-skilled workers would be needed in the state.
At the same time more highly-valued quality jobs will be created.
Job opportunities would be increased to 2.5 million by 2030 compared to 0.9 million in 2006, she said.
As such, more training centres and learning institutions will be built in SCORE region, she added.
“HRM is responsible to meet the challenges of creating the workforce that is compatible with the growing needs of new industries that had been planned,” said Maznah.
On the service delivery system, she said the government commitment towards customers need to be fine-tuned to meet the customers satisfaction.
Customer complaint management would also be emphasized.
Apart from providing various service channels, customers were also provided with means to report complaints and views, she said.
“To face the challenge, we have to work more smartly, always look for opportunities and good ideas to empower HRM,” she said.