NEWS: More support for knowledge workers from MDeC

PETALING JAYA: The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), which is the custodian of the MSC-Malaysia initiative, said it generated close to 9,000 knowledge workers for the IT industry last year but its not about to rest on its laurels.

MDeC chief executive officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said the talent demand for highly skilled knowledge workers is growing in tandem with the increasing number of MSC-status companies.

“While we managed to generate 9,000 knowledge workers for the market, we forsee that an additional 12% is needed to fill positions in the market by 2012,” Badlisham said.

He was speaking at an awards ceremony to recognise graduates and institutions that have participated in MDeC’s Knowledge Worker Development Initiatives (KDI).

KDI is a list of programmes that provide ICT professionals, graduates, undergraduates and MSC-status companies with the necessary support to meet the demands of the ICT industry.

Finishing schools

Badlisham said MDeC is intensifying the KDI programme by conducting finishing school lessons which equip jobseekers with skills to work in the IT industry.

He said that MDeC plans to have its own finishing schools and hopes that it will be part of the 10th Malaysia Plan which will be tabled next year.

“The setting up of these schools will require help from the industry and institutes of higher learning but it will be subject to the 10th Malaysia plan,” he said.

Presently MDeC adopts foreign finishing school models such as that of Indian outsourcing company, Infosys Technologies, which provides jobseekers with the skills required to work in the outsourcing and shared services sector.

In addition to setting up finishing schools, MDeC also plans to set up master classes to fill the gaps in the creative content development field.

“These master classes are more than just basic technical classes and we plan to work with our foreign partners to help content developers produce masterpieces,” he said.

MDeC’s plans have already received some early support from the Government.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said the Government will continue to support plans to train or retrain jobseekers to fill in opportunities in the industry.

“Such initiatives are crucial to the development of the local ICT industry. Human capital will be strong determinant in transforming Malaysia into a high income nation and enhancing its global competitiveness,” Ongkili said at the same awards event.