300,000 high-skilled job opportunities to be created by 2025

A total of 300,000 high-skilled job opportunities for youths in high-impact sectors such as electrical and electronics, automotive, chemicals and advanced materials, as well as life sciences and medical technology, are expected to be created by 2025.

International Trade and Industry Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said for this year alone, a total of  20,000 similar job opportunities would be created through the Academy in Factory (AiF) programme.

"To ensure foreign investors continue to make Malaysia an investment destination, it is our responsibility to provide highly skilled and technological talents.

"This is in line with the emphasis for the country's workforce to improve skills and re-skilling or upskilling in line with the 4th Industrial Revolution which is expected to increase productivity by 30% in all sectors by 2030," he said when opening the Productive Youth Carnival and AiF programme in Kuala Lumpur today.

The AiF programme is an initiative by  the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) to address the shortage  of workers and develop high-skilled talents among local youths, towards building a future-ready workforce.

Azmin said Malaysia was moving towards being a productive developed country and that the local workforce should be prepared with high skills suitable for meeting the demands of the industry.

"The new high-skilled job opportunities created are for all youth groups, including those in rural areas, villages and the Orang Asli children," he said, adding that to increase long-term competitiveness, the country needs to develop skilled, productive, creative and innovative human capital.

Meanwhile, MPC director-general Abdul Latif Abu Seman, in his speech at the same event, said MPC was committed to spearheading the programme to increase productivity and competitiveness based on the main drivers of productivity growth.

“When skills improve, productivity also increases and can lead to profits. Thus, wages can be increased in line with increased productivity and profits.

"In the long term, this will contribute towards achieving the target of 40% workers' compensation, as set under the 12th Malaysia Plan,” he said.

Latif also said that the country's productivity performance had returned to positive growth at a rate of 1.8% in 2021, and that labour productivity per worker increased by 2.7% with an added value of RM23,129.