KUALA LUMPUR: It is time for Asean countries to work together to become a self-sustainable region in the face of economic uncertainties arising from conflicts between global powers, says Steven Sim.
The Human Resources Minister said this must include improving the sustainability of key sectors of economic and human resource (HR) development for all Asean countries.
He called on the region to enhance its collaboration on human development by sharing best practices and solutions to regional challenges.
“Malaysia itself spends RM80bil on education annually, with up to another RM7bil on skills education, making it almost RM100bil spent a year on HR development.
“If this number is an average even among just 10 of our Asean member states, we are looking at about a trillion budget a year from Asean governments alone for HR development.
“This is why initiatives like the Asean Human Capital Development Investment Symposium (AHCDIS) are key to help us better utilise our HR best practices and solutions among us.
“Combined with our almost 60-year long collaboration as its core, we must utilise our logical and natural tendency to work towards making our economies sustainable,” he said in his speech during AHCDIS here yesterday.
Sim said this was especially due to the current turmoil of global geo-economic dynamics that could leave Asean countries to suffer economically.
“For the last half decade, our region has been defined by its mass production model economy, offering low- to mid-skill and low-cost labour input for everyone, which has lifted many members from poverty.
“But it has become unsustainable to offer continual cost cutting to the global economy, especially in an age where global players are calling for more inward nationalism and declining global cooperation.
“We are now constantly depressed and threatened by the big boys despite decades of offering cheap labour and resources to build some of their biggest companies in our region,” he added at the two-day event here.
AHCDIS is part of the Human Resources Ministry’s Asean Year of Skills (AYOS) 2025 initiative and organised by Human Resources Development Corp (HRD Corp) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and supported by the Asean Secretariat (ASEC).
HRD Corp chairman Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid said the symposium seeks to provide a platform for all stakeholders to explore innovative workforce skills financing solutions.
“This symposium is not just a gathering of experts but a regional action platform where policymakers, employers’ organisations, worker representatives, development partners and education institutions come together.
“They can then use this collaboration to identify actionable solutions, share best practices and build momentum for long-term investments in human capital across the region,” he said in his speech at the event.
AYOS 2025 organising chairman Rony Ambrose Gobilee said the symposium serves as a key platform to help industries shape and train their workforce for a sustainable future.
“Skills in digitalisation. and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in particular, are the focus of the symposium as they are the most key skills going into the 21st century.
“While knowledge of concepts is important, these two skills (digitalisation and TVET) will be the most in-demand if we wish to become a sustainable economic region,” he added.
