Many SMEs not utilising HRDF: Ministry sec-gen

KUALA LUMPUR: Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are among those not utilising the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) which can play a major role in developing the workforce within it.
The Human Resource Ministry’s deputy secretary-general (operations) Mohd Gazali Abas said employers as such should make it a continuous goal to provide skills training and necessary accreditation to increase employee income and productivity.
“It is the common practice in developed countries, where the notion is that, expenditure is investment. Thus, spending or investing money on employees will help bring Malaysia closer to achieving Vision 2020.
“The government is also making a continuous effort to persuade companies to invest in providing skills and job training for employees.
“This is why, the HRDF was established, so that companies can invest in it to enable employees to gain the necessary skills,” he added.
Mohd Gazali said this during a question-and-answer session at the 2nd Malaysia Productivity-Linked Wage Conference here on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot, who officiated at the conference, said the percentage of skilled workers in the country stood at 28% at present.
“To become a developed nation, this percentage must be set at 40%. But we have set our target at 35%. There is a lot of work to do in the next four years as we aim to become a high middle income nation by 2020.
“I must say we are on the right track and one way to achieve this (developed nation) is through the HRDF fund,” he added.
He expressed his concern that there are thousands of skilled workers without the required paper qualifications, resulting in low salaries.
Meanwhile, the conference theme of “Transforming Wage Structure that Promotes Wealth Creation and Wealth Sharing”, dealt directly with the two major issues of lagging productivity growth and low compensation of employees as highlighted in the 11th Malaysia Plan.
The one-day seminar also focused on the Productivity-Linked Wage System, which has benefited more than 3.4 million employees as of May. – Bernama