PETALING JAYA: Human resources minister V Sivakumar said 50% of workers will need to be retrained in the next two years if they are to remain employed.
He said that based on a World Economic Forum report, there is an urgent need for the country to transform its workforce to remain relevant due to the advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0, Bernama reported.
“However, we are fortunate because the newly emerging jobs can be combined with technology,” he said.
“The need to improve skills is not only for career advancement or change, but to remain employed,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Industry Driven Talent Acceleration Programme at the Selangor Human Resource Development Centre.
Sivakumar said that according to the WEF report, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) means as many as 4.5 million Malaysians could lose their jobs by 2030 if they do not improve their skills or attend reskilling and upskilling programmes.
He said the report also warned that AI could cause a recession in the job market as it is already being used to automate tasks in various industries including manufacturing, healthcare and customer service.
Sivakumar explained that the Industry Driven Talent Acceleration Programme aims to improve skills and retrain 900 workers in the country based on industry needs.
Around RM7.2 million has been allocated for the programme to equip workers with knowledge and skills required by industries such as mechatronics, electrical and electronic engineering, data analysis, and information technology.
“Among the groups that are targeted are workers who have five years of work experience or less,” he said.