PETALING JAYA: The rapid growth of data centres, particularly in the Klang Valley and Johor, is ramping up job opportunities and production as Malaysia aims to emerge as South-East Asia’s main data centre hub.
As the country is set to rake in RM3.6bil in revenue from the data centre industry next year – an increase from the RM2.09bil in 2022 – specialised jobs in engineering and management are expected to flourish.
In a recent interview, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief executive officer Mahadhir Aziz said the growth of data centres in Malaysia is poised to generate significant indirect job opportunities across various sectors, including manufacturing, construction and logistics.
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He said data centres are fundamentally engineering-driven enterprises, with a wide range of engineering roles required during various phases, such as design, planning, site acquisition and construction.
“These roles span across civil, electrical, cooling, mechanical, fire mitigation, and physical security engineering.
“During the operational phase, additional roles will emerge in facilities and data centre management and operations to ensure smooth, sustainable operations and to address any potential issues that arise,” he added.
Mahadhir said the growing demand for the materials, components and technology required for data centre construction and maintenance would also boost the local manufacturing industry.
In recent years, several global tech giants like Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft have mooted plans to develop cloud computing infrastructure in Malaysia, with AWS looking into a long-term investment of up to US$6bil (RM26.6bil) up to the year 2037.
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Earlier this month, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said RM76bil worth of data centre-related investments had been approved by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry via the Malaysian Investment Development Authority from 2021 to March 2024.
She said the country was seeing more industry players investing in the digital economy and data centre operations.
Meanwhile, Mahadhir said data centres would also require non-technical roles in human resources, finance and project management, as well as environment, health, and safety.
“As businesses, data centres also necessitate the usual senior management roles, client services, customer training, sales and marketing, public policy, corporate affairs, and more.”
In anticipating future demand for skilled labour for data centre and related manufacturing sectors, Malaysia’s education and vocational training institutions also have a critical role to play, he said.
Collaboration with industry players is also essential to ensuring that curricula are not only up to date with industrial demand but also anticipate future trends.
“This alignment will create a talent pipeline that is well prepared to support the rapid expansion of the data centre sector,” said Mahadhir.
