TM AND DEPARTMENT OF SKILLS DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATE TO EMPOWER WORKFORCES

A staunch believer in continuous human capital development, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Skills Development, under the Ministry of Human Resources (Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran – JPK) for the exchange of expertise and resources between both entities towards empowering its respective workforce.

Mohd Khalis Abdul Rahim, Chief Human Capital Officer, TM signed the agreement on behalf of TM while JPK was represented by Datuk Dr. Phang Chau Leong, Director-General of Skills Development, JPK. The signing ceremony was witnessed by YB Senator Dato’ Maznah Mazlan, Deputy Minister of Human Resources, and Dato’ Sri Dr. Halim Shafie, Chairman, TM.

(From left to right) Mohd Yusoff Abu Bakar, Director, Strategic Skills Development, JPK, Datuk Dr. Phang Chau Leong, Director-General of Skills Development, JPK, YB Senator Dato’ Maznah Mazlan, Deputy Minister of Human Resources, Dato’ Sri Dr. Halim Shafie, Chairman, TM, Mohd Khalis Abdul Rahim, Chief Human Capital Officer, TM, and Dr Zainal Abu Zarim, Vice President, Group Human Capital Management, TM, at the recent MOU signing between Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resource to empower the respective workforces.


This collaboration between TM and JPK, which is in line with the transformation agenda outlined in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP) – mainstreaming Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) – is hoped to develop a productive, informed, disciplined and responsive workforce that will be able to stay competitive in the ever changing labour market environment and play its role towards driving economic growth.

Leveraging on the unique strengths and experience of both organisations, the collaboration will enable TM and JPK to jointly conduct mutually beneficial learning and development activities as well as other related areas, reflected in the gist of the MoU as follows:

• TM to work alongside JPK in providing expertise and also to collaborate in the development of the National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS) which will outline the competencies requirements in an occupation;

• Recognising TM’s skilled workers by awarding them Malaysian Skills Certificate (Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia – SKM) through Recognition of Prior Achievements (Pengiktirafan Pencapaian Terdahulu – PPT) in related fields;

• Implementation of ‘articulation’ (recognising external students) by allowing open entry for SKM holders to TM’s Multimedia College;

• Commissioning of skills development institutes under TM for national and international programmes (SkillsMalaysia INVITE – International Technical Educational & Vocational Training Programme);

• Recognition of TM’s skilled workers as industry experts.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dato’ Sri Dr Halim said, “TM acknowledges the challenges faced in producing all-rounded skilled human capital tailored to the industry. From the industry’s perspective, we need to address the mismatch of skills and place more emphasis on core work skills such as teamwork, problem solving and creative thinking. In this regard, TM and JPK will work together to create regulatory governance hoped to curtail the problem, especially from the telecommunications and ICT perspective.”

“TM has an abundance of engineers and ICT specialists who share a wealth of experience in managing, building and maintaining telecommunications infrastructure and facilities of the country. Through this collaboration, we will see the recognition of more than 200 of those specialists as industry experts by JPK, thus enhancing the value of TM’s human capital in the market,” added Dato’ Sri Dr Halim.

This collaboration further demonstrates TM’s commitment to employee career development - continuously looking for new and different approaches to empower its workforce, especially through partnerships that support human capital development through an accelerated learning curve.

In sharing her thoughts about the collaboration, YB Senator Dato’ Maznah said, “We hope that the younger workforce with aptitude and potential will participate more in technology and skills based training which will increase their employability as well as their competitiveness in facing the increasing global economic challenges. This will be the ultimate contribution from the nation’s skills transformation initiatives, driven by Malaysians themselves.”

For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my. For further information on JPK, visit http://www.dsd.gov.my.