Tengku Zafrul: Govt, higher education institutions to ensure local talents relevant to current needs, new industries
29 Jul 2023
The government will continue to emphasise cooperation with institutions of higher learning and educational institutions in ensuring that the country continues to supply local talents that are relevant to current needs and new industries.
Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said for now, Malaysia remains a competitive country in terms of the supply of local talent to foreign investors due to a good command of the English language in addition to technical knowledge which is able to meet the demands of foreign investors in the country.
“All this while, (among the reasons) we have successfully attracted investors (from abroad into the country) is because we have the workforce that is necessary and relevant to their (investment).
“But we cannot be complacent or satisfied with the achievement, because technology is constantly evolving and the level of expertise required is getting higher if we want to move up in the value chain,” he said during Bernama TV’s Ruang Bicara programme today.
In terms of infrastructure provision, he said Malaysia has a good infrastructure in terms of communication line speed to attract investors.
“However, we must also be prepared with technological developments (which create new industries) such as the digital economy and (advancement of broadband access) 5G, in addition to the development of green technology,” he added.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul said political stability also plays an important role in ensuring that the country remains attractive to foreign investors.
With political stability, he said foreign investors will be more confident because the government is able to make long-term and large-scale decisions or plans.
“If we look now, most of the plans announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim are long-term plans, where the targets are for a period of 10 years.
“All this plays a role in increasing the confidence of foreign investors in our country,” he said.
The Prime Minister also often emphasised the importance of technical and vocational education and training (TVET), including the cooperation between TVET, companies and industries so that those who leave TVET get jobs, said Tengku Zafrul.
“Some parties in our country think that graduating in TVET is less important to secure employment, but in developed countries like Europe, we can see that TVET is one of the branches of education which is vital to get a job,” he said.
Source: Bernama
