Economic Transformation Programme will create 3.3 million jobs

PUTRAJAYA: A skilled workforce will be needed in the coming years to fill the 3.3 million jobs that will be created as the Government restructures the economy under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk Seri Idris Jala said at a briefing yesterday that the ETP, which would be unveiled on Sept 21, would include details on the 131 entry point projects and 60 business opprtunities that would help boost gross national income (GNI) to US$523bil in 2020 from US$188bil in 2009.

To do this, a total of US$444bil of investment would be needed, of which 92% would come from the private sector, with the rest to come from the Government. Of the private sector investment, 73% would come from domestic direct investment with the rest to come from foreign direct investment.

Under the ETP, GNI per capita would rise to US$16,000 from US$6,700 in 2009.

Jala said from consultations with the private sector, it was found that 46% of the jobs created would require vocational or diploma-level qualifications.

He said the qualifications needed by the private sector “provided tremendous policy implications” as tertiary institutes would have to shift their focus to supply the workforce.

Jala said it was also found that a lack of specialisation among tertiary-level institutes as well as lack of collaboration with the private sector has brought about the skills disjointment.

“We know exactly what skills are required in the various industries under the National Key Economic Areas. We’ll feed this information to the tertiary institutes so that they can adjust their curriculum accordingly,” he said.

Jala added that the lack of skills critical to the successful implementation of the ETP needed to be dealt with now.

“We can’t deal with the demand side (by identifying and launching the projects that would bring the most impact to GNI) and then go on to fix the supply side (the skilled workforce), both must come in tandem,” he said.

Jala said the economy cannot expand at sub-par pace if it were to compete against countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

“We really have to run, we need to grow at an average annual rate of 6% and not 4%,” he said, adding that the Government would woo the Malaysian diapora, estimated at 700,000 across the world, to come back to work.

Jala said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had, in the Tenth Malaysia Plan, called for the setting up of the Talent Corp to draw in skilled workers, including foreigners.

However, he said this people would only come back or foreigners would only be convinced, if they were convinced of the value proposition.

“We’ve to convince them that we’ve something concrete to offer and we’ve to go out and sell that proposition,” Jala said.

He said it would not be easy as many in the diaspora have set down roots. “We’ll have successes and have some rejections but we must try,” Jala said.