REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON INVESTMENT CLIMATE AND COMPETITIVENESS IN EAST ASIA SESSION 3:SKILLS FOR COMPETITIVENESS ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP: MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY BY: K.YOGEESVARAN ECONOMIC PLANNING UNIT NOVEMBER 2005

OUTLINE  Background  Key Findings on Skills and Education  Measures Introduced and Their Impact ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

BACKGROUND  Productivity and Investment Climate Survey 2002/2003 was undertaken in collaboration with the World bnk  Objective - to identify key constraints to competitiveness  Total of 1,151 firms were surveyed including 902 firms in the manufacturing sector and 249 firms in the selected business support services sector ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

KEY FINDINGS 1. Shortages of skills was reported as a pervasive problem  Time taken to fill vacancies;  Market places a very high premium on tertiary education;  Higher education rates are lower than international norm. ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

KEY FINDINGS 2. Quality was of some concern  There was a preference for foreign trained professionals;  Main deficiencies were English Language proficiency, ICT skills & communication skills ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

KEY FINDINGS 3.Presence of skills/education mismatch especially at tertiary level  Qualifications of unemployed not relevant to manufacturing sector;  Results in productivity loss ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

KEY FINDINGS 4. Improvement in skills can result in substantial benefits 5. Number of firms using training facilities are low especially among SMEs ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

MEASURES AND IMPACT  Expanding the supply of educated and skilled human resource  Increase in capacity of institutions of higher education;  Introduction of double-shift training facilities;  Impact  Increase in labour force with tertiary education ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

MEASURES AND IMPACT  Improving the quality of education and training delivery system  Review of primary and secondary school curriculum including use English for Science and Math;  Increased collaboration between universities, industries and research institutions to address mismatch  Introduction of the National Dual Training System  Impact  Duration of unemployed ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

CONCLUSION  Inadequacy of skilled workforce and mismatch were identified as the main concerns.  A range of measures have been introduced to address these concerns and improvement are already emerging. ADDRESSING SKILLS GAP :MALAYSIAN CASE STUDY

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No. of Weeks to Fill in Vacancies Assessing Skills Shortages – Average Time to Fill In Vacancies Managers face acute shortages of skilled labour, especially professionals

… this premium is even higher than that in OECD countries Mean log hourly wage Years of formal education The premium is high for tertiary education in Malaysia… Annual rate of return to tertiary education (percent) The Premium for Tertiary Education is High in Malaysia Primary SecondaryTertiary Source : Malaysia PICS 2002, World Bank Source : Psacharopolous and Patrinos (2002) and The World Development Indicators (April 2003, PICS Manufacturing Data for Malaysia

Philippines Malaysia 1980 Canada Chile China India Korea Thailand Log of Real Per Capita GDP in 2000 % of Population > Age 25 with Higher Education Complete, 2000 Malaysia 2000 Malaysia 1990 Malaysia’s Higher Education Stocks Lag Behind Its Level Development Malaysia’s higher education rates are lower than the international norms

Econometric estimates suggest that addressing the skills constraints can provide large benefits to firms, raising the sales of most industries by 11 per cent of sales on average The rate of return on training is also large, 10 per cent in terms of higher wages for manufacturing workers with any training Food processing Textiles Garments Chemicals Rubber/Plastics Machinery/Equipment Electronics Auto parts Furniture/Others Industry Benefit From Reducing Skill Shortages (% Sales) Benefit from Addressing Skills Constraints

Investment climate – Skills Gap Utilisation of Skills and Technology Development Institutions % Firm Using Skills Development Institute Number of firms that uses the skills development institutions is low, especially among the SMEs Skills development institutions Technology support institutions Technology incentives % Firms That Report Using The Institutions SMEsLarge

Number of Persons (‘000) Output from higher education institutions, especially prublic institutions increased dramatically after 2002

Output from both public and private training institutions increased since 2000

% of Labour Force The share of labour force with tertiary qualification has increased since 2000

% of Unemployed Graduates The percentage of graduates who are unemployed for more than six months has declined since 2000