Malaysia will undertake a study highlighting the impact of digitalisation and emerging opportunities to serve as a future map of the local workforce. Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said the study would be undertaken by Talent Corporation Malaysia and would be the first-of-its-kind. It would benefit various stakeholders, including employers and students.
“Technology can replace jobs, but it can also create new career paths and opportunities. “Which is why for us in the Human Resources Ministry, it is important to have a map of the future. “The impact study would not only help each sector to plan ahead but also allow workers in current roles, which will be impacted in the next few years, to be alerted,” he said in Kuala Lumpur at the launch of the Impact Study of AI, Digital and Green Economy on the Malaysian Workforce.
Sim added that ten key sectors have been selected for the first phase due to their high impact on the national economy. These sectors represented about 60% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), contributing RM933bil annually, involving 3.5 million workers or 31% of the total skilled and semi-skilled workforce. The sectors involved are aerospace, chemicals, electrical and electronics (E&E), energy and power (E&P), food processing and services (FMS), global business services (GBS), information and communication technology (ICT), medical devices, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade (WRT).
TalentCorp group chief executive officer Thomas Matthew said the report is a comprehensive strategic blueprint designed to address the impact of said changes on the Malaysian workforce. He said some 150 workshops, discussions and meetings, engaging over 300 stakeholders across government, industry, and academia were held to build a strategy that is inclusive, adaptive, and responsive to Malaysia’s evolving economic landscape.
“Malaysia stands at a critical juncture. Global forces like artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, and the green economy are redefining industries and reshaping work itself. “We are a nation poised for growth, with a youth-driven demographic advantage and strong investor interest in sectors like E&E, manufacturing, and global business services,” he said, highlighting the need to address the dual challenge of harnessing new job opportunities while managing possible role redundancies.
He outlined TalentCorp’s mandate to identify critical skills and address talent gaps impacting Malaysia’s national growth. One key component, he said, is the MyMahir Future Skills Talent Council (or FSTC) — a sector-based, industry-led initiative aligned with International Labour Organisation best practices.
Matthew added that the MyMahir platform is also live, serving as a centralised resource, housing the findings of the Impact Study and a skills taxonomy to guide workforce planning. “MyMahir is also not only for professionals but also for the young. It provides tools to explore career paths and equip our younger generation for tomorrow’s economy,” he said. He also stressed how the youths are one of Malaysia’s greatest assets, noting the 11% youth unemployment rate while 36.3% of the tertiary-educated population are underemployed.
“This reminds us that we must continue investing in targeted upskilling and reskilling to prepare our workforce for future demands,” he said.
