TalentCorp Now Reports To Ministry Of Human Resources

Malaysia's Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran announced on Wednesday (23 January) that Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) will now report under his ministry, transferring from the Prime Minister's Department (Jabatan Perdana Menteri, or JPM). According to a press release, the move follows the Government's efforts to align and restructure the departments and agencies under the JPM after the 14th General Election.

The announcement was made following Kulasegaran's visit to TalentCorp’s offices in Petaling Jaya, where he observed the day-to-day operations of the agency and its subsidiary, MYXpats Centre.

Building Malaysia's professional and graduate talent space

Kulasegaran said the move will allow TalentCorp to focus on initiatives and interventions to build Malaysia's professional and graduate talent space.

He commented: "Malaysia is now facing numerous challenges. This includes ensuring that we meet the demand for an increased supply of skilled, future-ready talent that will be ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).

"However, Malaysia’s 2017 Department of Statistics data shows that only 28% of Malaysia’s workforce is high-skilled. This means that there’s an urgency to move quickly to create a pool of highly skilled professionals and graduates in Malaysia."

At the same time, under the Ministry of Human Resources (MoHR), TalentCorp will continue to attract and optimise Malaysian talent, facilitate global talent and build networks of top talent, in order to ensure the Malaysian labour force is well primed to tackle the challenges of IR 4.0 and the future of work.

Among the agency’s revised focuses in the short term is to continue working with employers to implement work-life practices, and to recruit and retain women on career breaks through its Career Comeback Programme.

A reminder to embrace global talent

Kulasegaran also reminded the public that to progress quickly to meet the challenges of the future of work and continue to be relevant in the global economy, Malaysia must also embrace the best global talent, including top expatriates.

He said: "I want to emphasise that expats are not taking jobs away from locals. MoHR policies will always put the needs of Malaysians first.

"But we must also welcome foreign investors and global expertise, even if the expertise comes from foreign talent. Furthermore, foreign talent will help us reinforce and complement our national talent pool."

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