11th Malaysia Plan: Everything HR Must Know

What can employers and HR expect for the remaining period of the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP)? On 18 October, the Malaysian government stated in Parliament that the mid-term review will focus on labour market reformation and human development. NST reported that priority will be given to high quality investments in order to produce a more high-skilled labour workforce.

Here's what you need to know, extracted from Malaysiakini's report on the four priorities to be implemented:

Priority A: Reforming the Labour Market

Generate Skilled Jobs

• The list of industries that qualify for incentives under the Promotion of Investments Act 1986 will be revised in order to attract high quality investments.
• A Critical Occupations List (COL) has been developed by the Critical Skills Gap Committee under the Industry Skills Committee (ISC) to address skills imbalances and job mismatch.
• The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and higher education curriculum will be continuously revised.
   

Raise Salaries and Wages

• Effective from 1 January 2019, the monthly minimum wage will be standardised at RM1,050 nationwide. Enforcement will be enhanced to ensure compliance.
• The Government will launch the National Wage Index by 2019 as a guide and benchmark for employers in determining the right wage level for employees.
• The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) will expand the coverage of sectors to qualify for funding to enable more employees to be trained.

Enhancing Management of Foreign Workers

• As for the construction sector, the adoption of Industrialised Building System (IBS) will be further promoted with the intention to reduce the number of low-skilled foreign workers.
• A progressive multi-tiered levy system that is based on the proportion of foreign workers employed will be implemented to strictly reduce and regulate the number of foreign workers.
• The Employment Act 1955 will be amended to impose mandatory requirement for employers to credit salaries of foreign workers through the banking system.

Improve Labour Market Conditions

• The functions of urban and rural transformation centres will be expanded as one-stop centres for job seekers, incorporating training, job matching, and advisory services.
• The Malaysian Bureau of Labour Statistics database will be strengthened, integrating data from various government agencies to facilitate evidence-based decision making and policy assessment.

Priority B:  Improving Labour Efficiency and Productivity

Strengthening the Rights of Workers

• Several legislations will be reviewed, including the Employment Act 1955, Trade Union Act 1959 and Industrial Relations Act 1967.
• In the remaining Plan period, focus will be given to the efficient and effective implementation of EIS (Employee Insurance System) and improve fund management.

Increasing Female Participation in the Labour Force

• The Employment Act 1955 and respective Labour Ordinances of Sabah and Sarawak allow the flexible working arrangements, and this will be further encouraged in private and public sectors.
• The Employment Act 1955 will be amended to increase the minimum maternity leave from 60 to 90 days in the private sector to further support working mothers.
• Regulations on childcare facilities will be reviewed to better facilitate employers to establish childcare centres at the workplace or within the vicinity of the workplace.
• All Government agencies will be required to provide childcare facilities, beginning January 2019.
• Continuing efforts will be made towards the target of at least 30% participation of women in the board of directors of SOEs, statutory bodies and public listed companies by 2020.

Priority C: Enhancing access to quality education and training

Prioritising Quality over Quantity of TVET

• Public TVET institutions will continuously review existing programmes by eliminating low impact programmes, focusing on high employability programmes and specialising in niche areas.Centres of excellence will be established whereby industry players will share equipment, consumables and other facilities as well as jointly develop customised training programmes.

• Impactful promotional activities will be intensified to increase the attractiveness of technical and vocational related jobs especially among young Malaysians. The industry will be involved in student recruitment and job placement to secure employment for graduates

Priority D: Fostering stronger industry academia linkages

Developing Industry-Relevant Skills

• Public TVET institutions will be encouraged to actively engage industry in the implementation of modular courses and flexible training programmes through contestable funds and matching grants.
• The National Dual Training System will be expanded to more public TVET institutions in driving greater collaboration with the industry.
• The Government will continue to encourage the industry to provide more apprenticeship programmes for TVET students, towards producing industry-ready TVET graduates.
• The TVET Graduate Tracer Study System will be utilised to capture, among others, data on graduate employability, salary trends and occupational preferences.
• A target of 85% graduate employability will be set to measure the quality and performance of public TVET institutions in producing skilled graduates.
• The ISC and state skills development centres will identify relevant and highly demanded competencies through continuous collaboration with the industry.
• The Industrial Attachment Training programme introduced in 2017 for TVET instructors will be expanded to create a larger pool of dynamic instructors with industry exposure.
• Industry-academia collaborations will be pursued, especially in enhancing graduate employability, research and development, community outreach and financial sustainability of universities.
• The Future Workers Training scheme under the HRDF will be expanded to promote pre-employment training, focusing on emerging technologies related to the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution).

The reform is crucial in developing educated and innovative human capital to support Malaysia's future economic growth. Follow us on Facebook to keep updated on further developments.