Bernama Online(AM): 22/09/2016

SERDANG, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia hopes to win 15 gold medals at the 2016 ASEAN Skills Competition (ASC) in the fields of engineering, car manufacturing, hospitality and culinary skills.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said Malaysia as host of the 2016 ASC would use its expertise in these areas to emerge as the champion in the competition.

In the 2014 ASC held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Malaysia brought home of nine gold, four silver and four bronze medals, he said.

Riot said the skills competition, held concurrently with the National Skills Exposition and Carnival (KEKK) will be organised at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) in Serdang from Sept 19 to 28, and is expected to attract 100,000 visitors.

"Both programmes are aimed at strengthening the country's skilled manpower which is currently at 28 per cent to 35 per cent by 2020, he said during a press conference, here today.

He said the competition would feature 276 participants aged 25 and below from 10 ASEAN countries and contest in 25 skills.

Riot said, Malaysia chose the tiger as the competition mascot, which is themed 'Skills For A Brighter Future' to inform the public that there are vast skills present with a bright future.

Talking about KEKK, Riot said visitors will get to see various attractive events including record-breaking attempts like servicing the most motorcycles, providing the most haircuts and largest beading for entry into the Malaysia Book of Records.

"We will also prepare seven pavilions and 57 exhibition booths that will display an array of products and skills training services from government agencies and the private sector from Sept 24 to 26, including job opportunities from 33 participating companies," he said.

In conjunction with KEKK, Riot said 890 trainees from the Centre for Instructor and Advanced Skill Training (CIAST) will receive their diplomas from Sept 23 to 26, and an international Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) conference involving 200 delegates from ASEAN countries would be held on Sept 25 and 26.

He said other activities include a cultural show performance from famous artists, a flash mob, auto show, children colouring contest, rubix cube demo as well as video and traditional games.

He added that special bus services would also be provided to facilitate the needs of visitors.

-- BERNAMA

Youths told not to be too dependent on govt for jobs
Borneo Post (Online) : 21/05/2017

KUCHING: Young diploma and degree graduates are encouraged to take up entrepreneur studies or technical skills training in order to get a competitive advantage in the job market.
Minister of Human Resources said youths today should not be too dependent on the government for jobs, given there are already 1.6 million civil servants in the country.
However, the government was working hard to bring down the unemployment rate among youths, especially graduates, in the country by helping them to find jobs in the appropriate sectors, he added.

At the same time, he advised young graduates to also look beyond just being employed as they can also become entrepreneurs.
“That is why the government had asked local universities and colleges to include the syllabus whereby students, upon graduation, can also become entrepreneurs,” he told a press conference after a walkabout around the Job Fair at Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) here yesterday.
Riot said young academic graduates should also seriously consider taking up vocational skills training by participating in the Vocational and Technical Education Transformation (TVET).
He said the TVET programmes were aimed at providing technical and vocational education to youth at an affordable price, apart from offering a guarantee of employment upon completion of the course.

He also said although there are about 150,000 unemployed graduates in Malaysia now, the unemployment rate in the country, which is 3.5 per cent, was still manageable.
Riot stressed that Malaysia must have at least 35 per cent of its workforce highly-skilled in order for the country to become a developed nation.
He lamented that as at the end of last year only 31 per cent of the Malaysian workforce was highly-skilled compared to 28 percent in 2015.
“The government has set a target of having the proportion of highly-skilled workers at 35 per cent by 2020.
“To achieve the target, my ministry will strive to attract more youths to participate in TVET,” he said.
Riot said currently there were 1.8 million foreign workers in the country, down from 2.1 million previously, and the foreign workers were mostly labourers in 3D (dangerous, dirty and difficult) sectors, the jobs which were not taken up by Malaysians.

He said the foreign workers made up about 15 per cent of the total workforce in the country, which is still below the maximum of 17 per cent.
“We cannot have more than 17 per cent of our total workforce foreigners and we will make sure that we will not go above that,” he said.
Also present at the press conference were Ministry of Human Resources secretary-general Datuk Seri Adenan Abdul Rahman and state Labour Department director Jack Meredu Ko.

Bernama Online(AM): 23/09/2016 PUTRAJAYA, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has proposed to the relevant bodies to form a network of skills training institutions in the ASEAN region to foster strong cooperation in the area of skills development.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem said the institutions would play a role to enhance collaboration and engagement in the capacity building for trainers, vocational training and enhancing the development of skills curriculum across the region.

He said it would also cater ideas, views and experiences exchange among ASEAN members to remain relevant and attuned to the technological changes and skills sets required by the industries.

"As ASEAN enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the need to continuously upgrade the skills of the workforce to keep pace with the advancement of technologies becomes more critical," he said.

Riot said this when delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 11th ASEAN Skills Competition (ASC) 2016 here today.

In addition, Riot stressed that the government must continuously adapt to this fast changing transformation through collaboration with stakeholders and industries to ensure the future workforce is equipped with the relevant skills sets needed by the future job market.

"With the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community last year, the ten-member bloc will face challenges related to skills development, wages and productivity, labour migration and social protection system.

"In addressing these challenges, further collaboration and engagement among the relevant bodies in the ASEAN member states are vital," he said.

Themed 'Skills for a Brighter Future', Riot said the skills competition reflects the important role of skilled workforce for are sustainable development of ASEAN.

The competition will see 276 participants, aged 25 and below, from 10 ASEAN countries contesting in 25 skill areas.

The skills competition, held concurrently with the National Skills Exposition and Carnival (KEKK) will be organised at the Malaysian Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) in Serdang from Sept 19 to 28.

-- BERNAMA