Better salaries can address issue of brain drain among high-skilled workers, says HR Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Better salaries should be prioritised to retain high-skilled workers in high-tech industries and to avoid the issue of brain drain, says Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar.

He said that the ministry had taken various initiatives especially by TalentCorp to ensure that high-skilled workers who are working abroad will return to the country despite various challenges.

"Salary is among the factors for high-skilled workers not to leave the country.

"I urge all employers to give priority in offering a good salary as this is one of the factors for high-skilled workers to not leave the country," he told reporters at Parliament's media centre after the tabling of Budget 2023 on Friday (Feb 24).

He was asked about the measures taken by the ministry to retain high-skilled talents in high-tech industries from leaving the country.

"At the same time, we are also looking for the best ways to ensure local high-skilled talents working overseas return to the country but also those in the country remain here in order to avoid brain drain," added Sivakumar.

On the budget for the ministry, he explained that the allocation under Budget 2023 saw an increase from RM1.3bil last year to RM1.4bil this year.

"Among the main priorities of our ministry is to reduce unemployment, especially among women, youth and those who are vulnerable," he added.

A total of RM187mil had been allocated under Perkeso as an incentive to employers to employ those from 17,000 TVET graduates, 24,000 gig workers as well as 40,000 new job seekers, by giving attention to those who are affected including the disabled groups, he said.

Aside from that, to encourage more women to return to work, a grant equal to 80% of the value of the employee’s salary will be offered to women who return to work after their pregnancy, with an allocation of RM290mil, he said.