INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT 1 - MY POINT OF VIEW Source: Date: Writer: Title: The Star Online 12 February 2011 (Saturday) Jagdev

Singh Sidhu THE SCRAMBLE FOR SKILLS

SUMMARY OF ARTICLE This article was published to a critical problem faced by our country related to the deterioration of supply of skilled workforce needed to drive future growth. The root of this problem is due to brain-drain from this country in which talented Malaysians find better opportunities elsewhere.

For the past few years, Malaysia has faced long term ill effects of losing these talents. The exodus of talented Malaysians is further compounded by the local education system, the need to seek safer environment, and political instability. Therefore, it is more than just economic issue that makes Malaysians leave this country.

Malaysians are believed to have advantage over other nationals in gaining employment overseas because they can easily adapt to the life style and cultural practices of the host country. Also, Malaysians are considered hard working people with the ability to communicate in various languages. Malaysia will be at the losing end if it keeps losing its talented pool of workers. Currently, there are about 700,000 Malaysian skilled workers working abroad and majority are in Singapore.

In order to fill the talent gap, Malaysia has set up Talent Corp to initiate and facilitate programmes that will help the country meet its talent needs and to address its human capital issues. With the support from the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), Malaysia
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will be able to attract and retain talent to fulfill its human capital needs and to bring home the countrys best talents. Talent Corp has listed three initiatives to help build the nation: firstly, by picking the brains of those living abroad to contribute ideas for Malaysias development without necessarily returning, the second initiative is to attract foreign best talents, and lastly, to stem the flow of migration of our local talents. In order to ensure the goals are reached, Talent Corp collaborates with firms and business organizations to seek their views on ways to retain talents and at the same time ensuring government policies and system are aligned with the initiatives.

It has been highlighted that workers in Malaysia lack soft skills, IT and technical skills, thus making them less employable in the current competitive job market. Thus, higher education institutions need to provide the necessary environment, tools and approaches to teach students the skills required to meet the demand of job market, and at the same time, review ways to produce competitive graduates with technical skills and appropriate behavior.

Industry players often comment about the lack of suitable talent in the market, and the graduates produced by the present education system and those demanded by the company are not sufficient. Although the number of graduates are high, the number of vacant posts are not been filled accordingly. According to a report by Randstad 2010s World of Work, three sectors which still face shortage of skilled workers are the white collar professionals, manufacturing, healthcare and education.

In addition, the issues of wage and productivity are also main factors causing workforces to move abroad. Skilled workers in Singapore receive salaries 2-3 times more than those received by skilled workers in Malaysia, and their productivity is 3.8 times higher than
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workers in Malaysia. Lower wage coupled with increasing rate of inflation have caused frustration among many Malaysians skilled workers, resulting in them seeking greener pastures in another country.

MY POINT OF VIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS Referring to the article above, I strongly agree with the issues raised in the article pertaining to the shortage of skilled manpower in Malaysia. For instance, the World Bank in April 2011 has stated For Malaysia to stand (sic) success in its journey to high income, it will need to develop, attract and retain talent. Brain drain does not appear to square with this objective: Malaysia needs talent but talent seems to be leaving, The report further adds that it is very likely that 20% of Malaysias best graduates will end up in other countries. The reasons why they leave are also instructive: 66% cited career prospects, 60% social injustice and 54% compensation.

Malaysia has taken drastic and systematic action to ensure that the supply of skilled workforce is sufficient to make Malaysia a developed country in year 2020. The government has provided funds and introduced several policies and initiatives such as setting up Talent Corp, increased the minimum wages rates in government and private sectors, and also introduced long life training and education to help retain skilled workers in Malaysia and recall of talent from abroad to return and work in Malaysia.

In addition, I propose that the government introduces a mandatory system for university graduates majoring in technical fields such as engineering, information technology, medicine and architecture to serve in this country for a period of 5-7 years after graduation, with incentives such as tax exemption and eligibility for My First Home Scheme. For those who
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wish to work abroad to gain new experiences and skills, it is suggested that the government establish policies and set the limit for those working abroad, all within the legal framework. The government should conduct studies on the requirement of skilled workforce in Malaysia. By looking also at advancement in technology, the number and quality of expertise, abilities and knowledge required of workers would have to be determined.

It is hoped that such initiative will be able to provide a sustainable supply of talent for the present and future years, and reduce losses incurred by the country. Also, the government needs to address the remuneration needs of local workers, which should commensurate with the level of skills and experience. REFERENCES: Mohamad Faiz bin Bakhri. (2008). Analisis Kekurangan Tenaga Mahir Dalam Industri Pembinaan Malaysia. CIDB News Issues 1 (2007), 50 Tahun Membina Kegemilangan Malaysia, CIDB Malaysia. Quoted from the web site of Malaysia Ministry of Human Resources: www.mohr.gov.my. Quoted from the web site of Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (Talent Corp) http://www.talentcorp.com.my/pr_subENG08.asp. Quoted from the Rightwayss Blog http://rightways.wordpress.com/tag/talentmanagement/. Quoted from the World Bank website http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACI FICEXT/MALAYSIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:22900721~pagePK:1497618~piPK:2 17854~theSitePK:324488,00.html. Quoted from the National Economic Advisory Council website Malaysia Losing Talents NEAC 30 March 2010 | The Star | By Authors: Bernama.

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