Digital skills transformation company, General Assembly launches in Malaysia, will accelerate upskilling of workforce

• General Assembly arrival reaffirms MDEC’s commitment to developing skills in workforce
• Update current workplace capabilities & introduce new digital skills to next-gen talents

To meet the growing demand for digital and tech workforce in Malaysia, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) last week announced a collaboration with General Assembly (GA) to establish operations in Kuala Lumpur, its second in Southeast Asia.

Focusing on skills transformation, GA has 23 campuses across four continents and offering 130 digital courses conducted by over 3,000 instructors. Since its inception in 2011 in New York City, it has trained over 100,000 students and partnered with more than 19,000 companies globally.

The event was officiated by Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Gobind Singh Deo, who highlighted that government is not the only party responsible for the growth of the economy – it is also a shared responsibility.

“All parties must do their part to equip fellow Malaysians with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as a productive member of an innovation driven and knowledge-powered nation. In this regard, I wish to extend my heartiest congratulations for the arrival of General Assembly to Malaysia, the newest initiative for this country’s talent development efforts. This is a testament that we are on the right path to nurture the education and human capital development of this nation. It is our hope that with time, our digital and tech professionals are able to grow and become the very best within the global digital industry,” said Gobind.

GA will provide customised training for life-long learning in today’s rapidly evolving digital economy; specifically, for Malaysia’s digital and tech talents. This includes offering critical and in-demand upskilling content and processes that match current and next-gen digital capabilities; introducing radical reskilling for those who need to pick up new digital roles; and creating a new talent pipeline that operates like an on-demand service.

All three are the core focuses for GA as it aims to transform careers by augmenting them with in-demand specialised skills. The training can be provided through a series of classes, hands-on immersion workshops, or customised development. Ultimately, this talent development platform wants to help businesses develop progressive yet sustainable pipelines for the digital and technology sector.

“A digital-savvy talent pool will help propel Malaysian companies to the regional and global stage. This essential upskilling opportunities will also firmly establish Malaysia as the Heart of Digital ASEAN. It certainly will attract more global companies to set up operations and even retain existing talent within companies that are already operating here,” said Surina Shukri, CEO, MDEC. She added that upskilling and reskilling are key to strengthening the quality of the Malaysian digital workforce. “It is the most important part of our digital talent development strategy,” she added.

She also shared that the establishment of global training companies in Malaysia, like GA, reinforces the fact that Malaysia has a lot of potential in pushing the envelope further for digital talent development. Currently, MDEC is working closely with industry partners to facilitate the continued advancement of digital skills transformation. “We are incredibly excited to be part of the digital transformation journey in Malaysia, our 23rd campus and the 4th within the Asia Pacific. Being a global leader in skills transformation, we work very closely with companies to build sustainable talent pipelines that meet their needs. In fact, 94% of our graduates from the full-time programmes are employed within six months after graduation,” added Ryan Meyer, Managing Director of APAC, GA.