The Human Resources Development Fund has welcomed efforts by the Malaysian Government to up-skill the local labour workforce, as recently announced in Budget 2020. HRDF Board Chairman, Dato Noor Farida Mohd. Ariffin said the budget allocation of RM50 million to the Fund will empower it to catalyse the development of a competent local workforce, contributing to the Government’s aspiration to drive growth and equitable outcomes towards shared prosperity. She said in recent years, the Fund has been at the forefront of nurturing Malaysian talent through skills’ development and capacity building programmes which are geared towards Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); up-lifting the livelihood of the B40 income group; and preparing Malaysia’s Small and Medium Enterprises for the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0). “With an allocated budget of RM30 million for TVET, the Fund aims to reduce the country’s unemployment rate which currently stands at 3.3 per cent. We will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Human Resources, industry players and employers to provide TVET training programmes catered to employ 3,000 youths from low-income households,” she said in a media statement.
Under this initiative, the targeted B40 youths will be trained in courses with fast employability rate such as Escalator and Elevator Service and Maintenance; Housekeeping Operation; Retail Operation; Commercial Driver Training and Certification Programme; and Professional Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Operations. Dato Noor Farida added that the Fund would also match the Government’s allocation of RM20 million with an additional RM20 million towards up-skilling a further 4,000 Malaysians through professional certification examinations related to IR4.0. “These certifications are aligned to the main pillars of IR4.0 and will equip talent with knowledge and skills for the Internet of Things; Cybersecurity; Big Data; and Cloud Computing, to name a few.”
