TalentCorp Takes The Lead In Preparing Malaysia For The Future Of Work

TalentCorp launches talent profiling platform and framework for action

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 November 2017 – Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) today launched two new initiatives as a response to the challenges and opportunities that the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) will have on the conventional design of work, workplace and workforce.

The first initiative, the Nurturing Expert Talent (NEXT), is a national talent analytics platform to acquire and analyse data about the quality and ability of the Malaysian workforce to meet the demands of the evolving marketplace. As part of a holistic talent strategy, NEXT forms vital links between education, employers, and employability, as well as offers insights to help talent identify their strengths, passion, and career choices that are most suited to their skill sets.

The second initiative is a report that underlines five key recommendations to future-proof Malaysia’s workforce. The Visioning Malaysia’s Future of Work: A Framework for Action report calls for the engineering of a robust talent ecosystem; enhancing the skills and capacities of the workforce; reforming talent and human capital policies; employing data to better coordinate human capital policies; and developing a National Future of Work Action Plan.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Panglima Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who officiated both initiatives at the Future of Work, Workplace, Workforce Conference organised by TalentCorp, noted that talent is recognised as an integral element of economic and business growth, competitiveness, and innovation. “Given the demands of the rapidly changing global environment, ensuring Malaysia’s continued prosperity calls for a new approach towards leveraging all our sources of talent and towards future-proofing our human capital,” he said during his keynote address.

With Industry 4.0 reshaping work across sectors, geographies and all layers of an organisation, the Visioning Malaysia’s Future of Work: A Framework for Action report and NEXT is designed with the impact that the future of work will have on the Malaysian workforce in mind, and to call on all relevant stakeholders in ensuring that the future generation of workers are future-proof. While Industry 4.0 are seeing more workers being displaced by automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, it also brings with it the potential to create new jobs, raise income levels and improve the quality of life.

“In order to thrive, we have to promote life-long learning, an important element that will support our ability to evolve together with the future of work. Part of this transformation will require efforts to future-proof the talent pool, and integral to achieving our national economic development goals is the ability of our workforce to adapt and cope with the increasing demand for skilled capabilities and quality output,” said CEO of TalentCorp, Shareen Shariza Dato’ Abdul Ghani.

Future of Work, Workplace, Workforce Conference

To kick off the conversation surrounding the future of work, the Future of Work, Workplace, Workforce Conference featured Co-Founder and Co-Director of MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, Andrew McAfee, and education and creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson, as keynote speakers. The conference, in strategic partnership with Maybank, and CXS, IBM Malaysia, and Microsoft Malaysia as TalentCorp’s technology partners, discussed the country’s evolving work, workplace and workforce, and was divided into three separate sessions.

‘The Disappearing Office’ session delved into workplace innovations such as remote working and teleconferencing and how it is transforming today’s working lives. ‘Making Disruption Work’, meanwhile, focused on technological innovation and its empowerment of workers, and how it can shape a more sustainably inclusive workforce in the future, in light of the rise in the sharing and collaborative economy.

The other session, ‘The Next Gen by Microsoft Malaysia’, featured four Gen Zs who are making an impact on their community through technology and provides an understanding on what drives the next generation of talent, as they will have a disproportionately greater influence on the pace of change in organisations.

Malaysia is now at a critical inflection point that will shape the country’s future of work

As the shelf life of today’s skills are decreasing in light of the accelerating changes brought on by Industry 4.0, TalentCorp is working to ensure that Malaysia is able to smoothly transit into a workforce that is ready for the future of work.

In this spirit, Talent Compact 4.0, an industry advisory panel made up of 10 experts representing Malaysia’s key and emerging industries, was recently established to address the country’s need of an enhanced talent strategy for the future of work. Talent Compact 4.0 will assist in the development of the National Future of Work Action Plan, as Malaysia is now at a critical inflection point that will shape the country’s future of work.

To download the full version of Visioning Malaysia’s Future of Work: A Framework for Action report, please visit https://www.talentcorp.com.my/.