Work in progress: Business is booming, but solar panel firms are facing a crunch for skilled workers. — NG KOK LEONG/The Star
PETALING JAYA: One year under the ambitious plan to transform the energy sector, solar power companies, one the biggest players in this initiative, say they are feeling both “positive” and “hard-pressed”.
Positive because demand for solar panel systems have skyrocketed but hard-pressed because there are not enough workers with the special skill-set that the industry needs, said industry groups and businesses.
The lack of qualified chargemen, for example, is leading businesses to hire migrant workers who lack the necessary know-how on how to safely work with solar power systems, they said.
“The NETR (National Energy Transition Roadmap) has been a positive development but the hard part is the implementation,” said Malaysia Photovoltaic Industry Association secretary Lionel Yap.
“We are seeing more jobs being created, in fact we are short on people. We can train people fast enough because of the speed of the technology growth. There are people in the field gaining experience but we also need new blood in the game.”
However, other players such as the Association of Water and Energy (Awer) warned that the push into installing more solar power systems on houses and businesses, and the building of more solar farms comes with a big risk.
Solar panels can degrade after 15 years and Malaysia currently lacks a comprehensive plan to handle and dispose of these panels, which can be toxic and radioactive, safely, said Awer president S. Piarapakaran.
“In Malaysia, we have ‘green gung-ho’ policies that do not fully represent sustainability. In the long run, we will face new challenges such as toxicity and radioactivity that is not simple to manage.”
The NETR’s main aim is to shift from burning coal, natural gas and oil to generate electricity in Malaysia to renewable sources including solar, green hydrogen and waste.
The roadmap will help Malaysia meets its international commitments to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
But more than that, the NETR is meant to be an industrial catalyst that will create more business opportunities across sectors and new skilled jobs for Malaysians.
“The successful implementation of NETR will uplift GDP value from RM25bil in 2023 to RM220bil and generate 310,000 jobs by 2050,” according to the NETR’s document prepared by the Economy Ministry.
Renewable energy service provider Gading Kencana Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Muhamad Guntor Mansor Tobeng said they faced a serious shortage of competent chargemen for solar installation.
“Existing policies like Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) Solar For Rakyat Incentive Scheme have increased demand for registered competent engineers in the market which, combined with the ever-increasing number of new players in the industry, have made finding competent chargemen difficult.
“Some of the competition have even resorted to hiring unqualified foreign labour to install solar panels without competent chargemen, which is dangerous,” he said, adding that Gading Kecana itself had to increase its workforce by 30% since last year.
He called on the government to consider investing in more Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for skills and programmes tailored for the renewables and solar power industry.
“A simple solution is to allow more local universities, especially those with existing facilities, to perform accreditation by providing them with extra funding.
“We must prevent a future where the industry is monopolised by large corporations who employ cheap foreign labour while sidelining locals,” he added.
Plus Xnergy’s group chief executive officer Ko Chuan Zhen said many local talents moved to Singapore as demand for renewable energy systems was also high in the island republic.
“Our operations in Johor is facing manpower issues due to its proximity to our more lucrative neighbour,” he said.
To help retain its existing talent, Ko said local companies should consider implementing more quality of life improvements and better compensation for its employees.
“We went back to the fundamentals and made changes to our work culture and environment to make employees feel more at home through better recognition of their efforts while helping them recognise the social impact of their work,” he said.
The government must do more to encourage youths to train for the skills the industry needs since Malaysia’s push to be a data centre hub would increase demand for electricity, he said.
