22/07/2026 07:57 PM

Malaysia Must Shift To Competency-based Talent Development For AI Economy - GITC

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia needs to move from a qualification-based education system to a competency-driven talent development ecosystem to meet the demands of the fast-evolving digital and artificial intelligence (AI) economy, according to Government-Industry TVET Coordination Body (GITC) chief executive officer Tan Sri Jamil Bakri.

He said education institutions and industry must work more closely to ensure graduates possess skills required by employers.

Jamil said talent should be regarded as Malaysia’s most strategic national asset as it determines the success of investments, innovation, productivity and national competitiveness.

“Education can no longer operate independently from industry. They must work together closely so employers help shape the curriculum and define future skills,” he said during the dialogue session, “Progressive Talent, Digital Skills and Future Workplace” at the International Regulatory Conference (IRC) 2026 here today, 

The dialogue was moderated by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Chief Human Resources Officer Dr Murugappan Muthu.

Jamil noted that GITC is working to narrow the gap between graduates’ capabilities and industry requirements through closer collaboration with employers, particularly in high-growth sectors such as electronics, semiconductors, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

He pointed out that Malaysia should also strengthen work-based learning, under which final-year students spend up to a year attached to industry to gain practical experience before entering the workforce.

He said lifelong learning, modular certification and micro-credentials should also be expanded to enable workers to continuously reskill and upskill as technology evolves.

Meanwhile, NeX Academy chief executive officer Khim Tan said Malaysia must move beyond being a user of AI technologies and focus on creating higher-value applications capable of generating greater economic returns.

She said while Malaysia had made significant progress in areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, energy and data centre infrastructure, it still lagged in developing home-grown AI tools and commercial applications.

Khim said while AI will continue to evolve, human capabilities such as critical thinking, creativity, empathy and judgement remain indispensable in the workplace, adding that organisations should balance “power skills” with digital competencies.

Meanwhile, Huawei Malaysia board director and Vice-President for Business environment Eric Hu said future talents should not only understand AI fundamentals but also be equipped with practical capabilities in areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, AI governance and enterprise applications.

He said employers increasingly required graduates capable of integrating multiple technologies rather than possessing expertise in a single discipline.

“The future talents should understand what the AI fundamental technologies are and how to utilise them in applications,” he said.

Hu added that Huawei has partnered with universities, government agencies and industry players to strengthen Malaysia’s digital talent pipeline through various initiatives.

These include Information and Communications Technology (ICT) academies, digital leadership programmes and AI training, with the company aiming to nurture 30,000 local AI talents over the next three years.

The third edition of the IRC, themed “Shaping the Next Digital Era: Regulation, Resilience and Trust”, which began yesterday, is a global platform organised by the MCMC bringing together regulators, industry leaders and experts to discuss the digital economy and regulatory issues in the communications and multimedia sector.

-- BERNAMA  

 

 

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