The future is in technology

KUALA LUMPUR: The younger generation needs to be encouraged to venture into technical fields, especially engineering which is often associated with the term “dirty, difficult and dangerous” or 3D, as these fields have brighter job market potential with higher returns, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).

The Prime Minister said graduates of fields that often raise negative perceptions, whether directly or otherwise, are the ones expected to be much sought after in the future job markets.

“Future trends indicate that technology-related fields will become highly sought professions.

“The use of the latest technologies will turn this 3D image into one that is prestigious because the technical profession requires a deep degree of knowledge and expertise,” he said.

He said this in a special message in conjunction with the National Technical Profession Day (HPTN) 2020 which was broadcast via a video recording through Radio Televisyen Malaysia’s Selamat Pagi Malaysia programme yesterday.

HPTN is celebrated on the first Saturday every December as a sign of the country’s highest appreciation and recognition for technical professions.

Muhyiddin said the government will strive to strengthen the quality of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) graduates in its efforts to develop the technical profession.

Earlier, he said students are encouraged to make technical fields their future career choice, not only to meet the country’s future industrial needs but to produce viable technical professionals.

Muhyiddin said this was in line with global developments, especially with the IR4.0 technology boom, adding that job opportunities for those in the fields of STEM and TVET were very bright and should not be missed.

He said the government also intends to produce more policymakers and leaders among members of the technical profession.

“The country’s strategic technology-based agencies and companies need to be helmed by technical professionals. This is in line with the theme of HPTN 2020 – The Future Is Us,” he said.

Muhyiddin said currently, Malaysia has many world-class technology-based companies such as Petronas, UEM Group, Pharmaniaga Berhad, Telekom Malaysia, Celcom and Maxis, in which a majority of their workforce consisted of technical professionals.

This was the result of the government’s careful planning over the decades to produce a technical workforce, he said.

To date, Malaysia has 203,966 registered members in various technical skills and professions.

Muhyiddin said for the public sector, Malaysia is proud to have the Public Works Department which has contributed a lot to the development of the country’s infrastructure by implementing more than RM500bil worth of socio-economic projects since its establishment in 1872.

“Recently, the department has proved its expertise in helping to build the Low-Risk Covid-19 Quarantine and Treatment Centre at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) in just three days.

“It has also pioneered the use of Building Information Modeling that will contribute to the implementation of high-impact IR4.0 technology such as 3D Printing, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality,” he said. — Bernama