Environmental Scan 2017 | Page 41

Environmental Scan 2017: Human Capital Issues within the Medical Devices Sector Recommendation 4 4 Improve practical knowledge and technical skillsets of fresh graduates Recommended Actions Stakeholder E.O.I. IMPACT M H AMMI, MARGMA, MoHE, JTM M H Industry, IHLs H H IHLs H H To encourage collaboration between TVET institutions and industry players on the following areas in order to provide the relevant technical trainings to the students: Initiative 4.1 i) Identify the relevant machines and tools which they would require to train the students ii) To work together with industry associations and their re spective members to see on how they can support these institutions by providing them with the relevant machineries and tools MoHE, JTM, AMMI, MARGMA To encourage each technical/vocational institute to collaborate with a small group of industry players who would act as their advisors for both technical knowledge and industry know how. To upgrade existing training centers to cater for the key growth areas (suggest to have one each in Penang, Klang Valley and Johor). i) Initiative 4.2 ii) Initiative 4.3 An example is for the training centers to specifically focus on advanced discrete manufacturing practices (e.g. make- to-stock, make-to-order, and assemble to order), which can complement the various industries like medical technology industry, E&E and robotics. The training centers should be equipped with the latest technologies /machineries, which are meant for sharing among the IHLs within the region. This will enable the trainers and students to keep themselves abreast with the latest development within the industry. Academia to collaborate with industry for coursework projects and final year project of students to help harness their skillset further and increase their exposure on solving real-life problem. For IHLs which offer Biomedical Engineering course, regulatory compliance and quality assurance of medical devices should be embedded in the syllabus. Initiative 4.4 IHLs that do not have Biomedical Engineering course can offer short courses or a separate module on the subject matter to enable engineering students who are interested to work in the MedDev industry to familiarise themselves with the standards and requirements of the industry. Note: E.O.I = Ease of Implementation; L = Low; M = Medium; H = High 41