A recent report by the Penang Institute, a public policy think-tank highlighted some of the skill gaps in the workforce of the state. Some of these issues include the lack of highly-skilled workers and a mismatch of skills between graduates and industry demand.

Penang, located north of Malaysia has grown to become a high-technology manufacturing focused state, due to the in-flow of technology-based investments by foreign companies. It is also one of the largest electronics manufacturing hubs in the world. The core activities of these foreign companies are largely focused on research and development (R&D) and design and development (D&D), resulting in the need of highly-skilled labour. Although unemployment levels in Penang are relatively low (2 per cent) compared to Malaysia as a whole (3 percent), the demand for suitably skilled human capital remain a challenge.

Some of the challenges outlined in the report include:

• Lack of soft skills in fresh graduates
• Missed matches between job seekers and job openings
• Mismatches of skills between graduates and industry needs and demand
• Attaining and maintaining a highly-skilled workforce
• Ensuring that graduates are equipped with the right skills for the future

Some of the suggestions to address the challenges above include:

• The commitment by employers to up-skill and re-skill the current workforce
• Provision of suitable training for the up-skilling and re-skilling of the current workforce by training providers
• Collaboration between universities and the industry to mitigate the gaps in demand and graduate skills
• Industry players to share technology and scientific discoveries with students and universities
• The import of highly-skilled foreign talent into the country

The report can be downloaded here

Commentary by Jennifer Wan British Council Malaysia

The challenges such as mismatch of skills, gaps in demand and supply and maintaining a highly-skilled workforce highlighted in the report do not just apply to the Penang state, but rather, an issue noted across the country. The Malaysian government has constantly called for the development of a highly-skilled nation and this is evident on the continued focus on technical and vocational education and training.

What this means for UK institutions is the opportunity to promote courses beyond the traditional ones currently offered to their prospective students. As the economy moves towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the demand for human capital, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, data science and internet of things will surely increase. As the report rightly point out, there is already a gap between graduate skills and industry demand, and thus it is up to the education institutions to prepare their students in addressing these gaps. Employability is one of the main factors when students are deciding on a course and university and thus the prospect of having employable skills will appeal.

In addition to the above, the report also mentioned that skills training providers are often pressured to upgrade and provide courses which cater to the needs of the industry. This might open up possible collaborative opportunities between UK institutions which have the necessary courses with local training providers which do not have the expertise in the skills training in demand.