HRDF tailors training schemes to equip workers for IR4.0

KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) will continue to become one of the main players in efforts to provide relevant training for the Malaysian workforce in facing the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0).
With new jobs requiring new skills, HRDF chief executive Datuk C.M. Vignaesvaran Jeyandran said the agency's emphasis was now on training and equipping workers with the right skills needed by industries in the IR4.0 landscape.
"For that purpose, we're already collaborating with various stakeholders including the Higher Education Ministry, relevant industries and the private sector to come up with more dynamic training programmes for employees at Centres of Excellence in Technologies (CoETs) on IR4.0 nationwide," he told Bernama.
To date, HRDF, touted as Malaysia's leading training service provider, offers at least 15 types of IR4.0- related training programmes including on cloud computing, cybersecurity, digitalisation for the media industry as well as robotic automation courses.
Malaysia is eyeing to be among the top 20 economies in the world by 2050. To attain a high income developed nation status, at least 43% of its workforce must be skilled workers. At present, skilled workers in the country is at about 28%.
Vignaesvaran said that at the same time, training programmes in other areas would not only be continued but also improved and expanded from time to time to meet the needs of employers.
He noted that HRDF also provided training for fresh graduates in efforts to better prepare them with skills and knowledge needed to enter the job market.
One such programme is the Graduates Enhancement Programme for Employability (Generate) implemented last year for graduates who are unemployed for at least six months after graduation.
Generate, he said, was a partnership between HRDF and companies whereby HRDF would fund successful candidates to be trained in specialised skills or high-end skills by the participating companies.
"Upon completion of the training, the candidate will be employed by the same company with a minimum salary of RM3,000 per month," he said.
An agency under the Human Resources Ministry, HRDF was set up in 1993 with the aim of providing training programmes for workers in the country to upscale themselves, whether in the present job or to learn new skills in order to boost their competitiveness and value in the job market.
Since its inception until March this year, HRDF has trained 2.6 million workers in a wide range of fields and expertise including management, accounting and finance, food and beverages, medical and healthcare, security, maritime handling, high technology, biotechnology and chemistry.
"Currently, more than two million employees have benefited from our programmes. Looking ahead, we strive to provide training for some three million people nationwide," he said.
HRDF statistics also showed that more 22,476 employers had registered with the agency to date. — Bernama