According to a recent report, more than a million jobs across 10 industries in Malaysia are forecast to be filled by the end of the year through a recently launched app.
The app is the brainchild of a partnership between the Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) and an online jobs portal. It is part of a government programme to provide opportunities, via digital platforms, to lower-income households.
The programme aims to uphold a strong focus on driving the inclusive adoption of digital solutions, to mobilise a future generation that is equipped with the relevant skills to thrive in a digital economy and are excited to be active participants in its growth.
MDEC looks to spearhead an attitude that makes agents of change out of civil servants, fresh graduates, and young minds. As technology becomes more pervasive in everyday lives, people are able to connect communities globally, improving their employability in a global context.
The ‘Youcanduit’ initiative aims to educate Malaysians from all walks of life on the many ways of earning extra income through digital channels via the programmes with the online job portal.
The programme with the online job portal allows B40 individuals to register as digital workers and perform simple digital-based tasks to generate additional, trustworthy income.
With the aim to develop a conducive crowd-sourcing ecosystem in Malaysia, the online job portal profiles, trains, assesses, and qualifies individuals to benefit from the digital economy.
The programme also works work hand-in-hand with local and global organisations seeking to tap into Malaysia crowd-labour talents.
According to the co-founder of the company, the app, it will roll out various campaigns in an attempt to cater to the bottom 40% group nationwide. He said that by end of 2019, over a million successful job matches through this initiative will be created.
Furthermore, the programme is expecting not only to fill existing vacancies but also to enable more digital income opportunities.
How will this move benefit the IR 4.0 goals?
Industry 4.0 is expected to have far-reaching impact across industries, societies and the broader economy. Thus, it is not a domain of any one Government department or agency. Governance for such initiatives should be initiated at the topmost level in the country, with emphasis on strong cross-ministerial and agency collaboration.
As research and academia are tightly integrated with the manufacturing industry through collaborative public-private partnerships (PPPs) that develop innovative solutions for specific industry needs, the Malaysian government is looking to initiate and solidify more PPPs.
PPPs are effective is disseminating Industry 4.0 technologies and transferring knowledge. The Government aims to work with global and local industry leads to set up digital and Industry 4.0 demonstration labs.
Another one of the government’s strategies is to involve service providers for Industry 4.0 and link them to manufacturing firms to help implement technologies, processes and skills development.
The Malaysian government has been clear that it seeks to establish digital/technology labs and collaborative platforms, especially public-private partnerships (PPPs), to create awareness and understanding, foster the adoption of new technologies, and facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
