TalentCorp To Strengthen Efforts For Young Talent In 2018

Enhancing Existing Programmes for Malaysian Youth

In 2018, TalentCorp will: 

• Partner with Malaysian universities to introduce Nurturing Expert Talent (NEXT) to undergraduates 
• Seek more partnerships with foreign government agencies and private sector to promote talent mobility for its MyAPEC YouthConnect and MyASEAN Internship programmes 
• Continue working with JPA to ensure the country’s return on investment on scholars through its Scholarship Talent Attraction and Retention (STAR) programme 

KUALA LUMPUR, 23 January 2018 – Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) aims to strengthen its efforts for Malaysian youth through its signature programmes – Nurturing Expert Talent (NEXT), MyAPEC YouthConnect, MyASEAN Internship and Scholarship Talent Attraction and Retention (STAR) – in 2018.

NEXT is a national talent analytics platform that assesses a talent’s career and personal values, interests and personal preferences through a talent profiling system. It is able to map out a database of Malaysia’s workforce supply to meet the demands of the evolving marketplace. 

Launched in November 2017, TalentCorp has partnered several local universities to implement NEXT, with Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) making NEXT mandatory for all its students. In 2018, TalentCorp will continue building the nation’s talent hub by working with more Malaysian universities to acquire and analyse data on the quality and ability of Malaysian undergraduates. 

“Young talent (those aged between 15 and 24 years) forms 17.9 per cent of Malaysia’s workforce. As the backbone of the country’s future, it is important that we nurture them well so that they can eventually close the critical skills gaps within our key economic sectors,” said CEO of TalentCorp, Shareen Shariza Dato’ Abdul Ghani.

Promoting Talent Mobility
Besides NEXT, TalentCorp will continue enhancing its MyAPEC YouthConnect, a programme aimed at promoting talent mobility among young talent through 4-12 months’ work placement at leading companies with business presence in the APEC region. 

“We take pride in connecting our young talent with opportunities, locally or abroad, as we strongly believe in talent mobility, which in turn encourages brain circulation and balances the inflow of talent within the country. We can then tap on these talent with international exposure to close the critical skills gaps within our key economic sectors,” Shareen said.

This year, the agency seeks to explore partnerships with more foreign government agencies and companies with presence in the APEC region to tap on their young talent and to explore short-term employment for Malaysian youth abroad. This strategy was encouraged by TalentCorp’s successful participation in the ASEAN 5 Job Fair in Busan, Korea in October, marking its first collaboration with a foreign government agency, the Human Resources Development Service of Korea. TalentCorp introduced MyAPEC YouthConnect to Korean youth, and also facilitated the participation of three Malaysian companies, namely AirAsia Berhad, Osram Opto Semiconductors (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Tech Mahindra ICT Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, at the job fair, which saw more than 600 job-seekers in attendance. 

Another aspect of young talent mobility can also be achieved through TalentCorp’s MyASEAN Internship programme, where Malaysian undergraduates get an opportunity to intern with top employers in various ASEAN countries. MyASEAN Internship is one of TalentCorp’s efforts in increasing the career awareness and industry exposure for undergraduate. TalentCorp aspires to work with the Ministry of International Trade and Industries (MITI) and more ASEAN companies to offer the MyASEAN Internship, as well as forging stronger partnerships with foreign entities to facilitate more Malaysian students to intern in ASEAN countries. In mid-2017, TalentCorp entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KADIN) to promote and implement MyASEAN Internship programme in both countries. Since then, TalentCorp has been in talks with CIMB Niaga, Indonesia and several other organisations to place several Malaysian students there. 

Ensuring the Country’s Return on Investment on Scholars 
TalentCorp also runs the Scholarship Talent Attraction and Retention (STAR) programme, working closely with the Public Service Department (JPA) to ensure the country’s return on investment of JPA scholars. Since 2011, there are close to 4,000 JPA scholars serving their bonds in Malaysia’s private sector.

Majority of STAR scholars earn a starting salary between RM2,000 and RM3,000 upon graduation. The top three sectors employing STAR scholars are manufacturing, banking and finance, and oil, gas and energy, with the top five occupations being: executive, engineer, associate, graduate executive trainee and provisional registered pharmacist. 

In order to give JPA scholars early exposure to career opportunities and the STAR programme, TalentCorp often works with JPA to bring Malaysian companies that are registered as STAR employers abroad for mini career fairs organised by JPA. The most recent was in last November, when TalentCorp invited three Malaysian companies – Infineon Technologies (Kulim) Sdn Bhd, PERI Formwork Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Upeca Aerotech Sdn Bhd – to participate in JPA’s mini career fair in Germany, attended by more than 60 final-year scholars studying in the country. 

 For more information on TalentCorp’s programmes for young talent, please visit www.talentcorp.com.my.