TalentCorp: Meeting Malaysia’s Talent Needs

Next month would mark three years since the Talent Roadmap 2020 was launched by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak.

Malaysia has focused on continuously developing talent and enhancing the availability of talent to meet the needs of the economy, as reflected in the IMD World Talent Report 2014 which ranked Malaysia among the Top 5 countries worldwide for its positive talent environment.

However, more needs to be done to enable Malaysia to emerge a high income economy by the end of this decade. The Talent Roadmap articulates the game plan to address this urgent and immediate need for top talent to drive our country’s economic transformation.

It encompasses strategies and initiatives that require cohesive efforts by both public and private sectors to ensure our talent pool meets the needs of key industries that form the backbone of Malaysia’s economy.

Driving the change, by collaborating with leading employers and key Government agencies in engaging the talent needed by the country, is Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp).

TalentCorp tree

Key facts:

62% of firms in Malaysia have difficulty finding talent with the right skills.
48% identify the lack of talent as a constraint for future growth.

Source: Malaysia Economic Monitor Boosting Trade Competitiveness (The World Bank, June 2014)

Since its formation in January 2011 as an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department, TalentCorp has partnered close to 3,000 Malaysian employers in key sectors to address the talent gaps faced by these industries.

Based on TalentCorp’s engagement with these companies, they found that leading employers continue to have high demand for top talent, in addition to needing a highly-skilled workforce both at the entry and experienced levels.

Beyond the highly-skilled expertise required for the transformation of Malaysia’s priority sectors up the value chain, top talent is also required to support organisational transformation, as an increasing number of Malaysian companies are emerging regional champions and multinationals are establishing regional operations here.

This creates a demand for new skillsets to support companies embarking on higher value-added activities and international growth.

To close the skill gaps and take the Malaysian economy to the next level, TalentCorp has focused on an integrated approach to nurture, attract and retain top talent and a highly-skilled workforce.

These interventions focus primarily on Malaysians in Malaysia, who form the primary source of talent, supplemented by measures to target Malaysian professionals abroad and facilitate top foreign talent needed by the priority sectors.

Measures principally involve refinements of Government policy and catalyst collaborations with employers and relevant agencies to address critical skill gaps.

TalentCorp, together with its partners in the public and private sectors, engages with a broad cross-section of Malaysia’s talent pool.

From undergraduates in local universities to returning Malaysian professionals, from global expatriates to encouraging Malaysian women on a career break to return to the workforce, TalentCorp is continuously striving to fully engage and optimise all available sources of Malaysian talent.

In an era of intense global competition, the strength of Malaysia’s talent pool will be the crucial factor in determining whether the goals of Vision 2020 are successfully achieved.

TalentCorp has partnered close to 3,000 Malaysian employers in key sectors. Among the leading employers partnering TalentCorp in meeting Malaysia’s talent needs: