Upskilling endeavour: Sim (right) with Shahul celebrating Khairul’s (centre) 100 days in office at an event in Kuala Lumpur. — GLENN GUAN/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Training for high-impact skills will be part of the over 25,000 free courses targeted to be offered throughout the upcoming National Training Week from June 24 to 30, says the Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp).
Its chief programmes officer Soffian Amin said that more than 200,000 Malaysians are set to benefit from the event under the purview of the Human Resources Ministry, following the success of last year’s edition.
“Free training will be provided by government agencies, educational institutions, private training providers, and NGOs across skill sets.
“Among the skills offered are management, soft skills and even specific skills such as auditing, sustainability, drone technology and artificial intelligence (AI),” he told reporters at the HRD Corp Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration here yesterday.
Soffian also said that HRD Corp, together with its partners, will be organising over 500 events in conjunction with the National Training Week nationwide during the same period.
He added that the self-improvement skill courses were the most popular last year and the agency is aiming for more Malaysians to sign up for high-impact skills training this year.
“We hope to see more people sign up for high-impact skills training such as AI, technology and other future-proof skills,” he said.
Commenting on Microsoft’s investment and its impact on human resources, Soffian said HRD Corp will be committed to ensuring that Malaysians are highly trained.
“Our responsibility is to ensure Malaysians are trained to fulfil the demands of the industry, be it now or in the future.
“We welcome Microsoft’s move to offer its expertise. We have also partnered with Microsoft to provide training for Malaysia,” he added.
Soffian said some of the free courses have already been made available on its official website at https://www.nationaltrainingweek.gov.my/ and more will be added as the event approaches.
Also present at the celebration were Human Resources Minister Steven Sim, the ministry’s director-general Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud, HRD Corp chief executive Datuk Shahul Hameed Dawood and several foreign envoys.
During his speech, Sim said his ministry will continue to commit to its goal of achieving a 35% skilled Malaysian workforce, especially with the investments by tech giants such as Microsoft.
“Last February, the ministry signed agreements with 13 global skills training providers, which included Microsoft.
“This will enable us to meet the aspiration of 35% of skilled workers.
“This aspiration will not only focus on traditional skills but also new ones, AI, digitalisation and green skills,” he said.
On Thursday, Microsoft said the company will invest US$2.2bil (RM10.5bil) over the next four years in Malaysia to support the country’s digital transformation.
The US tech powerhouse said the investment will include building cloud and AI infrastructure, creating AI upskilling opportunities for 200,000 people, and supporting the growth of Malaysia’s developer community.
