Fifty supervisors and quality control professionals from the Malaysian food manufacturing sector have joined an upskilling programme coordinated by one of Australia’s leading education and training providers, TAFE NSW. Organised by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Institute and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), the two-month Australian Food Manufacturers Programme featured specific modules with practical guides and both organisational and management approaches to issues faced by the food processing and manufacturing industries, including food safety and implementing innovation in the manufacturing process. According to a statement from the Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, speakers for the programme included those from Austalia’s dairy and almond industries and Malaysian food manufacturers.
Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Dr Justin Lee said such cooperation between both countries in building and developing Malaysia’s food manufacturing and processing industries is of benefit to both countries. “Australia can supply premium ingredients and inputs. Malaysia’s industry can transform them into consumer-ready products. To do this, we need a focus on skills. This training has done just that,” he said.
Austrade’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner Paul Sanda said the training provided Australia and Malaysia with a unique opportunity to learn from each other and develop their complementary strengths in the food manufacturing and processing industries.
Meanwhile, FMM Institute general manager Dr Shanmuga Vivekananda Nadarajan said the training programmes provided an opportunity for FMM member companies to enhance their employee technical know-how from TAFE NSW. “It will also pave way for FMM Institute to work closely with Australian training organisations to offer reputable and accredited courses from Australia, with this being not only for reskilling or upskilling but towards career progression and leadership capability in manufacturing,” he added.
Manufacturing is the second-largest business sector in Malaysia, with the food-processing sector accounting for 10% of Malaysia’s manufacturing output. According to the statement, Australia is Malaysia’s number one supplier of wheat. In 2021, Malaysia imported around RM1.2 billion worth of high-quality and customised wheat varieties for value-added processing and export to other key international markets.
