Focus on human capital development and striking a balance

By Digital News Asia October 30, 2017

Malaysia is not short of leadership talent, it is short of people in leadership roles
Crucial to recognise that the country is competing in the global marketplace

Focus on human capital development and striking a balance

BUDGET 2018 is a forward-looking budget as it strikes a balance for businesses to prosper as well as programmes for the well-being of the people.

In its quest to shape the future, it is crucial to recognise that the country is also competing in the global marketplace for investments with our own unique value propositions.

“We are delighted with the extension of The Principal Hub initiative till 31st December 2020. This will continue to attract high value regional hub activities into Greater Kuala Lumpur and continue to create more global talent and high value jobs,” says InvestKL CEO Zainal Amanshah (pic, above)

Greater KL will benefit from the government’s announcement to continuously improve the public transport infrastructure.

The commitment to MRT2 and HSR plus expediting MRT3 completion by two years, is a positive sign that will improve our connectivity and make Kuala Lumpur an even more liveable city.

These upcoming projects can be a catalyst for growth for the whole country and will have a direct and positive impact for businesses and investments.

This will create a multiplier effect that will benefit the people in terms of cost of living, jobs and business opportunities.

The government's emphasis on Industry 4.0 will spur and enhance the digital economy in a big way.

The allocation of RM83.5 Million for Phase One of the DFTZ infrastructure development shows the importance that the government is placing on the Digital Economy.

This will boost Greater Kuala Lumpur as a regional digital hub for Malaysia.

Besides ensuring state-of-the-art capabilities and capacity, we need to also have a strong human capital base that is ready to embrace and compete with our current standards of Industry 4.0 and the Digital Economy.

This will enable Malaysian businesses to tap into the regional and global economic growth.

“Last but not least, we applaud the regulatory sandbox across industries as it will encourage more innovation and create new business models.

“These efforts presented will continue to fulfil the government’s commitment to both businesses and the people,” says Zainal.

Human capital development

Focus on human capital development and striking a balance

TalentCorp welcomes the Government’s announcement for Budget 2018, which puts special emphasis on human capital development, particularly women, and its plans toward nation building.

“We remain focused in developing Malaysia’s talent landscape through attracting, nurturing and retaining skilled talent in the country.

“We welcome the Government’s announcement to introduce the National Leaders’ Circle programme to be spearheaded by TalentCorp,” says TalentCorp chief executive officer Shareen Shariza Abdul Ghani.

Malaysia is not short of leadership talent, it is short of people in leadership roles. Through the National Leaders’ Circle programme, TalentCorp will work with Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) and Government-Linked Investment Companies (GLICs) to develop future leaders and facilitate sharing of best practices and knowledge transfer within the companies to solve national-level issues.

The National Leaders’ Circle will enhance the nurturing and retention of Malaysia’s top talent to drive national economic growth for the country by 2050.

“We support the announcement that 2018 is the year of Women Empowerment, as part of the Government’s effort to enhance the contribution of women in the workforce,” says Shareen Shariza.

The announcement of individual income tax exemption on income earned within 12 months for women’s re-entry into the workforce is in line with TalentCorp’s Career Comeback Programme. This will be a strong contributor to the nation’s Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) target of 59% by 2020.

The mandatory maternity leave for private sector to be increased from 60 to 90 days bodes well for the flexible work arrangements (FWAs) and Diversity & Inclusion agenda advocated by TalentCorp.

Shareen Shariza says that TalentCorp is pleased to see that more is done to increase FWAs, flexible benefits, childcare centre in main offices and ease of working hours for pregnant women for GLC employees. Benefits of FWAs include:

Work-life integration, where employees can balance professional and personal commitments.
Provide support to parents working at home.
Motivate employees to work to their fullest capability.
Retain valuable employees; reduce tardiness and absenteeism, while keeping costs managed.

There are already more than 60 companies in Malaysia that have implemented FWAs since TalentCorp launched its FWAs efforts.

“We will continue working closely with employers on offering FWAs as a key strategy to attract and retain talent in the workforce

“We are positive that Budget 2018 is a progressive undertaking that will help in TalentCorp’s efforts to prepare the nation for the future of work,” concludes Shareen Shariza.