New Human Resources Minister And Deputy Minister’s First Official Visit To TalentCorp

Steven Sim Chee Keong, Minister of Human Resources (centre) with Dato' Sri Abdul Rahman bin Hj Mohamad, Deputy Minister of Human Resources (second from left), Thomas Mathew, Group CEO of TalentCorp (second from right) and the TalentCorp Senior Leadership Team

KUALA LUMPUR, 19 December – The newly appointed Minister of Human Resources, YB Steven Sim Chee Keong and Deputy Minister YB Dato’ Sri Haji Abdul Rahman made their first official visit to Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp), an agency under the Ministry of Human Resources tasked to drive Malaysia’s talent strategy towards becoming a dynamic talent hub.

During the two-hour visit, TalentCorp’s Group CEO Thomas Mathew provided a briefing on the agency’s vision and its data-based initiatives for local and global talent groups, including school children, university students, graduates, women, senior hire, the Malaysian diaspora and high-skilled expatriates. He also shared about TalentCorp’s goals for the upcoming year with focus on initiatives that are sector-focused and industry-driven.

The delegation also visited the MYXpats Centre, a joint initiative between TalentCorp and the Immigration Department of Malaysia under the Ministry of Home Affairs. There, the Minister and Deputy Minister met with beneficiaries of TalentCorp's programmes, as well as officers from the Immigration Department of Malaysia stationed at MYXpats for the seamless operations and facilitation of skilled global talent.

Minister and Deputy Minister of Human Resources in a TalentCorp briefing

In his inaugural address to TalentCorp and its senior leadership team, YB Steven Sim said, “This is an increasingly geo-fragmented world with shrinking markets. As policy makers, we need to understand the global situation to be relevant, and be creative in what the country can do to capitalise on short-term boom, as well as prepare ourselves for long-term and sustainable solutions.

While it is important to mould the behaviour of our future workforce through graduate employability and skilling initiatives, it is equally important to mould the behaviour of employers to adopt changes in talent management. For example, by offering competitive wages, flexible work arrangements, and upskilling opportunities.

The competition for talent is not just between government through national policies, but it is also between businesses in different countries. Attracting and developing talent is a two-way street, where not only our talent needs to be skilled for the future, but employers must be ready with future-proof retention strategies and revitalise their workplaces.

YB Steven Sim, Minister of Human Resources chatted with a TalentCorp staff during his walkabout

This is where I see TalentCorp playing a key, proactive role to drive sector-focused, industry-driven initiatives aimed at transforming Malaysia into a dynamic talent hub. The agency is in a unique position to help increase the availability of high-skilled human capital for the country through its many programmes for both local and global talent, working across ministries, agencies, industry and academia.”

Issued by Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad

19 December 2023