As part of the MADANI Economy mission to internationalise Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and eradicate poverty, Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) organised an Industry-Academia Collaboration (IAC) workshop as a platform to discuss the talent needs of SMEs with the aim to drive solutions. Themed “Sustainable Talent Pipeline in the SME Sector (Emerging Tech)”, the workshop gathered university partners and SME stakeholders, including SMECorp, SAMENTA, SMITA, and The Ship Campus, to combine solution-focused networking with data collection, input, and feedback to identify ways to close talent gaps in the industry and region.
In his welcoming speech, Thomas Mathew, TalentCorp’s Group Chief Executive Officer said that such programmes are not only intended to boost the state’s economy, but also to significantly meet the needs of the MADANI economy. “There is a massive global shift in how work is done, manifesting itself as the “Future of Work” that is driven by IR 4.0, Energy transitions and New Age Technologies. Malaysia has embarked on the National Energy Transition Roadmap and the New Industrial Master Plan underscored by sustainability, moving our manufacturing sector up the value chain,” he said. “The outcome of today’s workshop, like all our IAC workshops, will be collated and shared with the appropriate stakeholders, and be used to advance strategic initiatives and programmes to further enhance the SME industry in Malaysia,” he added.
