INGENIEUR
FEATURE
INGENIEUR
FEATURE
Developing Malaysia ’ s ICT Talent
By Lee Soo Leng
Malaysian Government leaders have spoken at length on the need for a paradigm shift to become an innovation-led economy . Half of the 50 initiatives under the Government Transformation Program are information communication technology ( ICT ) -dependent. And of the 131 entry points projects identified under the Economic Transformation Programme , 28 are ICT-intensive while 57 are ICT-enabled .
The Government ’ s goals were to boost ICT contribution to GDP from 1.2 % in 2009 to 10.2 % by 2015 , as outlined in the 10 th Malaysian Plan . However , it achieved 17 % of GDP in 2014 and is now targeting to reach 20 % of GDP by 2020 . Malaysia has a good ICT ecosystem in place . The Network Readiness Index ( NRI ) 2016 issued by the World Economic Forum placed Malaysia 31 st among 139 countries . This strong performance continues to be supported by the Government which is fully committed to the digital agenda and is ahead of its peers in terms of adopting the latest technologies . With approximately two-thirds of the population online , individual usage is still growing .
One of the key success factors is to have sufficient top ICT professionals who can spur the necessary growth required for transformation to happen . In an innovation-led economy , talent is more important than capital assets or raw materials . An abundance of talent will attract more industries and investments , creating higher income opportunities and making the country more competitive in the global arena . In an era of increasing competition , the strength of the country ’ s pool of talent is the crucial factor separating the winners from the losers .
To that end , the Government has announced it will establish an ICT “ finishing school ” in collaboration with the private sector , to train as many as 25,000 knowledge workers needed to take the Multimedia Super Corridor ( MSC ) to its third phase of development . The Government also intends to issue work permits to the top 1,000 foreign ICT students from local institutions of higher learning annually to address the projected shortfall in talent .
Strategic Thrusts
Taking cognizance of the challenges in nurturing and retaining top-notch talent , the Government has embarked on various structural reforms to turn Malaysia into a global ICT talent hub . These reforms , working in tandem with the Economic Transformation Programme and coupled with transformative movements , are designed to create a pool of high quality talent . The Government is committed to undertaking the necessary talent interventions , whether through policy or via publicprivate collaborations .
To this end , it has identified three strategic thrusts for talent interventions . The first is to optimise Malaysian talent . The second is to attract and facilitate global talent . The third is to build networks of top talent .
1 . Optimising Malaysian Talent This starts with raising career awareness by providing guidance to young talent on career options and industry needs . Enhancing work-to-
48 VOL 68 OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2016