Environmental Scan 2017 | Page 65

Environmental Scan 2017: Human Capital Issues within the Medical Devices Sector 1.5.4 In-depth qualitative interviews with industry stakeholders Apart from the quantitative survey, qualitative insights and views from both the demand- and supply-side stakeholders were obtained, which included: 1. Industry players across all the identified sub-sectors 2. Industry associations, experts and key opinion leaders 3. Government policy-making agencies 4. Educational and TVET institutions 5. Upskilling/reskilling authorities 6. Accreditation agencies Semi-structured interviews with the above stakeholders via telephone and/or face-to-face were conducted. Interview questions were continuously refined throughout the information gathering process in order to tailor specific questions to be relevant to the respondents as well as to incorporate and verify new information gathered. The interview sessions also included in-depth discussions to assess the relevance and implications of key findings from the demand-side quantitative survey to the supply-side, such as mapping of critical occupations to the NOSS and improvement in curriculum development based on current and emerging skill gaps / needs. 1.5.5 Workshop with industry stakeholders Towards the end of the study, two stakeholder workshops were conducted with companies across the industry (demand), public / private higher education providers and skills training institutions (supply), and government stakeholders. One of the workshops was held in Klang Valley and another in Penang. Each of these workshop had around 30 participants. These workshops served as a platform to:  Share the key findings of the study with the stakeholders and validate them  Obtain additional qualitative inputs from industry players with regards to the skill gaps faced and challenges in hiring talents  Discuss a workable mechanism for aligning and reviewing the training program relevant for MedDev workforce occupations  Validate recommendations and seek additional insights to refine and finalize the recommendations 65