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One of the Government’s key focus areas is in enhancing the skills and quality of personnel in SMEs. Under Budget 2009, the Government continues to implement various programmes that are aimed at creating a pool of trained workforce. A sum of RM47.7 billion is allocated for education and training, accounting for 23% of the total 2009 Budget allocation.
The Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) has recently embarked on the Decent Work Agenda that gives priority and provides direction towards the realization of decent work.
The 6 Components of the Decent Work Agenda are:
1. Promotion of Employment Opportunities
2. Creation of Harmonious Industrial Relations
3. Settlement of Industrial Disputes
4. Implementation of Dynamic Safety and Health Practices
5. Development of a Competitive and Skilled Workforce
6. Provision of Social Security Protection
The launch of MySkills 2020 - Malaysia’s National Skills Development and Training Master Plan, 2008 - 2020, sets a new direction for the development of skilled manpower in the country. The Government plans to create 2.5 million new jobs by 2020 for skilled workers. Under this Master Plan, the quality of the workforce will be improved by increasing the percentage of workforce with tertiary education to fulfill the demands of a knowledge-based economy. This workforce is estimated to increase from 11.3 million in 2005 to 12.4 million by 2010. From that total, 3.3 million will have tertiary education, 7.5 million with secondary education, 1.1 million with primary education and 0.5 million without any formal education.
ROLE OF PEMBANGUNAN SUMBER MALAYSIA BERHAD (PSMB)
Pembangunan Sumber Malaysia Berhad (PSMB), an agency under the MOHR, has been mandated by the National SME Development Council (NSDC) to coordinate and oversee training and human resource development for SMEs.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT UNDER THE MOHR
Under the MOHR, the Government is playing an active role in nurturing SMEs to adopt a proactive training culture through the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF). HRDF was established in 1993 to facilitate the training, re-training, and upgrading the skills of the workforce. Employees who are better trained will be more knowledgeable and innovative, consequently resulting in higher productivity and greater efficiency, as well as the keenness to strive for excellence. This will be hugely beneficial to organizations in the current demanding domestic and international markets.
The HRDF is administered by PSMB. The objective of PSMB is to encourage employers in the private sector to retrain and upgrade the skills of their employees in line with their business needs and the industrialization strategy of the country.
PSMB also organizes an annual conference with the aim to keep HR professionals abreast with the latest HR challenges, human capital development tools and approaches to achieve competitive advantage. Apart from gaining information on trainings and retraining, services and business solutions, it also provides networking opportunities for employers, individuals and entrepreneurs.
PSMB is continuously looking into ways and means to facilitate and encourage SME employers to retrain and upgrade the skills of their employees in order to enhance productivity and competitiveness. The key strategies to assist SMEs are as follows:
a) Facilitating SMEs’ Accessibility to Relevant Training Programmes
SME employers have raised concerns on how to source for relevant training programmes that support their business needs. With this feedback, PSMB strives to facilitate employers’ training in the best possible way. With the objective to facilitate SMEs’ accessibility to relevant training, PSMB has implemented several initiatives. Forums were conducted to establish close linkages with employers’ associations and training providers to ensure the relevancy of training programmes offered to employers. This is important because employers know best the issues faced by them and this can be articulated to training providers who can then design and offer training programmes as measures to assist SMEs.
PSMB has established training committees represented by employers’ associations to identify training programmes that are relevant to the industry. The objective is to provide suitable training programmes based on the needs of industry or programmes that are not available in the market. The training programmes identified can be industry specific or industry wide training programmes. These programmes were offered to employers under the SME Training Partners (SMETAP) Scheme.
PSMB has also initiated the “SMEs Training Fair” with the objective to provide a platform for the SMEs to identify and source training programmes relevant to their needs. During the event, training providers exhibited and showcased their products and services to the SMEs. This event also provided a suitable platform for all SMEs and training providers to interact and explore the possibility to customise training programmes that were required by the employers.
In 2008, PSMB introduces a new scheme, namely, the SME Training Needs Analysis Consultancy Scheme. Under this scheme, several highly competent consultant companies have been engaged by PSMB to analyse and help plan workers’ annual training plan for SMEs. This is the latest move by PSMB to get SMEs to fully utilize their levy to train and retrain their workforce in line with their business needs to further boost productivity. The target group for this scheme are SMEs, having levy balances of at least RM20,000 in their accounts. The TNA consultancy services offered for SMEs registered under the HRDF are free. The fees incurred will be paid by PSMB. Based on the training needs analysis, the consultants will propose the annual training plan and courses tuned to the needs of the management and will be implemented duly by qualified training provider.
b) Inculcating a Positive Training Culture among SMEs
Facing the current global business environment and trade liberalization, SMEs must be more adaptive, especially in skills upgrading, to maintain their competitiveness. Through continuous retraining and skills upgrading of their workers, the SMEs would be exposed to new knowledge and management techniques.
This enables SMEs to adapt to new changes and to strive for continuous improvement. One of the continuous efforts by PSMB is to convince the top management of SMEs that human capital is an important asset to a company and must be developed to ensure company success. For this purpose, PSMB has invited the PSMB Award Winners to share with other SMEs their experiences on how training has helped them to be successful during the CEO-HRD Talk Series.
The extent of training amongst SMEs can be gauged from the utilization of their HRD levy payments. High utilization implies more workers had been trained and a training culture had been put in place. To increase the utilization rate of SMEs, PSMB had taken the pro-active action to educate employers on the guidelines and procedures of the HRDF. One-day workshops were organized to disseminate information on training grant application procedures and financial assistance that can be claimed. Consultation visits to employers’ premises were also conducted for employers who were inactive in the utilization of their HRD levy. During the visits, employers were briefed on the training grant applications and claim procedures.
c) Facilitating Government Ministries and Agencies that offer Training and Development Programmes for SMEs
PSMB continues to carry out the activities with regard to the mandate given by the NSDC, as the coordinating body to oversee and coordinate all training and human resource development of SMEs in Malaysia. PSMB organizes the Train-The-Trainer (TTT) for trainers from various Ministries and Agencies. To assist Ministries/Agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of the training provided by them, PSMB also organizes the Evaluation of Effectiveness of Training Workshops (EET). Information on training programmes conducted by Ministries/Agencies for SMEs is also gathered and disseminated through
www.hrdportal.com.my/freesearch.php.
A total of 28 Ministries and Agencies have registered and uploaded their programmes with the portal that can be used by SME employers to search for training programmes relevant to their needs.
OBTAINING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE OR GRANTS UNDER THE HRDF
Upon paying the HRD levy, employers registered with PSMB are immediately eligible to apply for training financial assistance/grants to defray all or a major portion of the allowable cost of training their employees. A total of RM679.79 million of financial assistance have been approved for SME employers from 1993 to 2007. The training places approved for SME employers for the same period was RM1.62 million.
NEW INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYERS
The scope of the HRDF Act 2001 (Act 612) provides greater flexibility for employers to choose training and advanced education programmes for their staff. Employers are also allowed to provide financial assistance to:
- Help employees pursue Masters or Doctoral degrees, especially in new and high technology areas;
- Train employees despite the employer having outstanding unpaid levies or outstanding interest on levies; and
- Provide practical training at their premises to students of universities or training institutions.
TRAINING SCHEMES UNDER PEMBANGUNAN SUMBER MANUSIA BERHAD (PSMB)
Listed below are various training programmes and available financial assistance from PSMB:
- SBL Scheme
- SBL-Khas Scheme
- PLT Scheme
- Annual Training Plan Scheme (PLT Scheme)
- SME Training Needs Analysis Consultancy Scheme
- PROLUS Scheme / ATP
- PERLA Scheme
- Joint Training Scheme
- Apprenticeship Scheme
- SME Training Partners (SMETAP) Scheme
- Computer-Based Training Scheme
- Technology And Computer-Aided Training Scheme
- Purchase Of Training Equipment And Setting Up Of Training Room Scheme
- English Language Programmes For Workers Under The HRDF
- Industrial Training Scheme
THE HRD PORTAL
As Malaysians become more adept at using a variety of ICT tools, platforms and services, PSMB, the coordinator overseeing training and human resource development for SMEs in Malaysia has developed the Human Resource Development Portal. The main objective of this web-based portal is to disseminate information on training to employers in Malaysia, enabling both employers and training providers to interact online as one training community. PSMB will continue to update the portal with more useful features from time to time, ultimately making it a one stop centre for PSMB’s training community. This portal can be accessed at www.hrdportal.com.my.
For further information on human resource development in Malaysia, please contact:
Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia (MOHR)
Level 6-9, Block D3, Complex D
Federal Government Administrative Centre
62530 Putrajaya, Malaysia
Tel: 603-8886 5000 Fax: 603-8889 2381
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.mohr.gov.my
Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB)
Ministry of Human Resources
Wisma PSMB
Jalan Beringin, Bukit Damansara
50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 603-2096 4800 Fax: 603-2096 4999
Hotline: 603-2096 4600
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.hrdnet.com.my / www.hrdportal.com.my
