HRDF prepares for 4th Industrial Revolution with new initiatives
KUALA LUMPUR: The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) yesterday launched its Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4) initiatives, aimed at preparing the local workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is rapidly taking place.
In line with the government’s efforts to spearhead the development of IR4.0 and to create ‘smart factories’ which include the digitalisation of the production process, HRDF is strongly supporting the collaboration between the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) and Knowledgecom Corporation Sdn Bhd to promote the National Empowerment in Certification and Training for Next Generation Workforce Programme (NECT-Gen) through the launch of the Centres of Excellence in Technology (CoETs).
Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Sri Dr Richard Riot Jaem and Deputy Minister (Industry), Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Ahmad Maslan — representing the MITI Minister, Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed — were present to launch the Centres of Excellence in Technology (CoETs) on Industry 4.0.
In his speech, Riot said that while automation might remove some routine and repetitive jobs, the advancement of the revolution brought more focus to the need to up-skill and reskill the Malaysian workforce, which is often overlooked.
“Malaysian employers, employees and businesses need to respond to IR4 in an integrated and comprehensive manner; which means we need to have all stakeholders involved - from the public and private sectors to academicians, politicians and policy makers.”
Riot also commended that HRDF, which is under the purview of the Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia (MoHR), for its efforts towards preparing the Malaysian workforce for IR4, adding that the agency had introduced grants as well as training and certification programmes towards this.
Chief Executiveof HRDF,Datuk CM Vignaesvaran Jeyandran shared that HRDF has set in place several strategies to help HRDF-registered employers and employees prepare for the robot revolution.
These include establishing partnerships with industry players such as the Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Malaysia (MPMA) and implementing trainings for the development of IR4 for plastic companies in Malaysia.
Apart from identifying IR4 programmes that meet the needs of the industry, HRDF is also currently enabling funds for training programmes in ICT Adoption and Big Data, over a period of four years until the year 2020.
The event also witnessed the signing ceremony of two Memorandums of Understanding. The first was between HRDF and PSDC on the commitment to promote the adoption and training implementation of Industry 4.0 nationwide, and the second was between the PSDC and Knowledgecom Corporation Sdn Bhd on the formation of the CoETs in Federal Territory as well as fifteen (15) other CoETs to expand the Industry 4.0 certification programmes.
These centres are strategically located around Malaysia and have the capacity and capability to deliver high-end technology certification programmes that are of Industry 4.0 standards. The mentioned certification programmes are offered through partnerships with PSDC, SAP, Microsoft, Oracle and many others including universities and polytechnics.
The CoETs are: Penang Skill Development Centre (PSDC); Johor Skill Development Centre (PUSPATRI); Perak Human Capital Development Centre (PHCDC); Sabah Skills and Technology Centre (SSTC); Pusat Pembangunan Kemahiran Sarawak (PPKS); Negeri Sembilan State Development Centre (NSSDC); Pahang Skills Development Centre (Pahang Skills); Kedah Industrial Skills and Management Development Centre (KISMEC); University Putra Malaysia (UPM); University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM); Universiti Technology Petronas (UTP); Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM); University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP); University Sains Malaysia (USM); and University Malaysia Pahang (UMP).