Building sector needs diversity

KUALA LUMPUR: A new agreement has been inked to boost skills and support career development in the construction sector particularly for women and youth.

The Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) and the ILO-UK Skills for Prosperity Programme in Malaysia (SfP-Malaysia) signed a partnership to help the construction industry find the skilled workers it needs in traditional and emerging occupations.

MBAM president Tan Sri Sufri Mohd Zin said that slow employment growth, poor and stagnant wages and widening inequality are slowing poverty reduction.

“MBAM hopes that the launch will be a symbolic spark to push the construction industry to sustainable skills development, better employment growth, shared prosperity and greater equality.”

He said this in reference to yesterday’s launch of the ILO-MBAM-UK pilot project on Apprenticeship Programme in Construction for Site Safety Supervisor and Lifting Supervisor.

Earlier at the launch of the event, Sufri said that many industry players were facing an acute shortage of skilled workers and are struggling to get back on their feet post-Covid-19 pandemic.

“We have yet to recover from the losses of Covid-19. We hope that this programme will be part of a solution to address both the shortages and also improve gender equality by involving more women, as well as social inclusion in the construction industry,” he said.

The pilot project will emphasise practical and theoretical knowledge for the enhancement of a sector skills body and industry-led Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) modalities in the construction sector.

Under the pilot project, participants will be attending a fully-sponsored, three-month practical attachment stint with MBAM for Site Safety Supervisor (SSS) and Lifting Supervisor Slinging and Rigging Training.

“This is partly due to limited opportunities for workers to join industry-relevant and work-based training, especially for some specialised trades.

“Furthermore, attracting diverse talent remains a challenge for the industry. For example, women account for less than 10% of total employment in the sector,” he noted.

Sufri also pointed out that the industry was facing an increase in cost of construction materials due to several factors such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Prices of construction materials have easily gone up by 50% and this will impact our sector,” he said.

According to MBAM immediate past president Foo Chek Lee, who was present at the press conference, the construction industry had an estimated 250,000 legal workers.

Prior to the pandemic, there were about 400,000 workers. “So, overall the construction industry needs about 1.2 million workers to function during normal operations,” he said.

Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) chairman Yusuf Abd Wahab also hoped that the pilot programme would help alleviate some of the problems faced by the construction industry.

“We empower and train local workers to give them more opportunities. We also hope that more workers will be involved in the industry so that our reliance on foreign workers will be reduced,” he said.