Industry-Academia Collaboration To Bridge Malaysia’s Talent Gap In The GBS Sector
As part of its efforts towards ensuring a sustainable supply of talent for Malaysia’s leading employers, Talent Corporation Malaysia in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) recently launched the Industry-Academia Collaboration (IAC) for the Global Business Services (GBS) sector.
Following the launch of the first IAC for the E&E sector at the SEMICON Southeast Asia (SEA) 2015 microelectronics exhibition in Penang, IAC-GBS offers a coordinated approach for the sector’s employers and universities to identify areas for collaboration towards enhancing graduate employability.
What is IAC-GBS?
IAC-GBS is an end-to-end model which involves creating awareness; providing internships and certification opportunities; implementing curriculum embedment; organising industry-focused competitions and boot camps, and upskilling graduates. IAC-GBS will also raise awareness among Malaysia’s future workforce of the career opportunities opening up in GBS.
Bridging Malaysia’s talent gap in the GBS sector
Supported by its ranking as the third most preferred outsourcing destination globally in AT Kearney’s 2014 Global Services Location Index and the establishment of GBS operations here in the country by over 400 multinational and local companies, the GBS industry is fast gaining momentum in Malaysia and is expected to create an estimated 70,000 new jobs by 2020.
As highlighted in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education), addressing the mismatch between graduates and employer demands calls for greater industry-academia collaboration, and for industry participation in the academic space.
The importance of public private partnership was also outlined in Budget 2015, with one of the key measures being an allocation by TalentCorp for the Industry-Academia Collaboration programme through which universities, Government entities and industries collaborate on developing curricula for short courses and industrial training.
By mapping demand and the skillsets required by employers and matching those to universities in Malaysia, IAC-GBS offers a more targeted approach to improving the industry-readiness of graduates for the sector. The active participation of key partners in industry and academia further strengthens the model.
“Malaysia is home to the GBS operations of over 400 multinational and Malaysian-owned companies. 70,000 new jobs are expected to be available across the GBS sector within the next four years, and the creation of 6,000 jobs are forecasted for this year alone,” said TalentCorp’s Chief Executive Officer, Shareen Shariza Dato’ Abdul Ghani.
“Sadly, not many Malaysians are aware the GBS sector is perfectly positioned to offer exciting and international careers right from home. This is why IAC-GBS will be central to raising the profile of GBS as the career of choice.”
Dato’ Ng Wan Peng, Chief Operating Officer of MDEC said, “MDEC firmly believes that the IAC-GBS initiative will help the industry to address many of the talent-related issues in the long run. The GBS sector is a maturing industry with a lot of potential for growth therefore we hope to shape a positive perception of the industry as one of the highly attractive industries to work for in an effort to expand the talent pool and ecosystem.”
Image credit: digitalnewsasia.com
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