KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 9 — Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) will continue to expand its developmental programmes and plans to help workers acquire skills for the digital transition.
Chief executive officer Surina Shukri said MDEC would continue its initiative in developing digitally skilled talent for employee marketability and job matching.
“There is a shift from traditional jobs (in that) there is a need to infuse technology, so the skilling and reskilling agenda becomes key… We are really focused on that and we have the mandate to not just train but also to help place (them in) about 15,000 new jobs next year,” she said in an interview on Bernama TV’s The Nation programme titled “MDEC: Budget 2021” today.
She said some of the jobs, for example, required an understanding of the latest computer software and MDEC was looking into this aspect.
MDEC has received a RM100 million Budget 2021 allocation to facilitate the transition of the existing workforce to meet the needs in the information and communications technology industry.
The agency would continue to work closely with ministries and strategic partners to support computer and digital technology graduate programmes at Premier Digital Tech Institutions and other skills institutes, she said.
Another area of focus, Surina said, was e-commerce, adding that MDEC would continue to onboard micro small and medium enterprises (SMEs) into digital by working with partners like banks and telecommunication companies.
Surina said MDEC would be on the lookout for investments and would continue to foster the development of data centres.
She stressed the need to improve execution in 2021 to boost SMEs’ digital readiness. “We (MDEC) are also challenging ourselves — how do we (MDEC) reinvent ourselves, how do we continue to push the boundaries and be more innovative and do more with less,” she said.
Touching on RISE, one of Asia’s largest tech conferences, which would be held in Kuala Lumpur in March 2022, Surina said it was a recognition of the great collaboration between government agencies and the industry to bring the conference to Malaysia, showing that the country was a leading digital economy in the region.
“Kuala Lumpur is the place to be. We have so much to offer here, with a growing tech ecosystem.
“We are certainly very excited about it (the conference). Yes, there is visibility because it is a large conference and we will have the participation of a lot of visitors, investors and developers; but think of the economic impact as well. When people gather and exchange ideas, (it will lead) to investments and job opportunities,” she said.
She said MDEC was actively encouraging the adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) by promoting the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, Internet of things and big data analytics in all industries to transform the country into an innovative digital economy.
RISE is a high-profile tech event that brings together the world’s tech founders, investors, startups, as well as multinationals with an attendance of over 16,000 from more than 100 countries around the world.
The National Tech Association of Malaysia is collaborating with MDEC and the Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) to bring RISE to Malaysia for a three-year term from 2022 until 2024.
— Bernama
