KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 42,807 people have lost jobs so far this year and up to 697,000 jobs could be at risk of being affected by artificial intelligence, the digital and green economy if they do not reskill.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said those who lost their jobs from January up till June 12 this year were mainly affected by business closures and downsizing.
These factors accounted for 17,485 cases or 40.85% of total job losses.
Kuala Lumpur recorded the most job losses at 12,844 or 30%, followed by Selangor with 12,360 and Johor with 3,468 or 8.1%, said Ramanan, citing data from the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO).
Ramanan was replying to Datuk Azman Nasrudin of Perikatan Nasional-Padang Serai in Parliament.
Azman asked what was driving the closures and downsizing in the Klang Valley and to what extent automation and AI were behind the current wave of retrenchments.
Ramanan said the government viewed AI as an opportunity rather than a threat and was working towards what it called a just transition for workers.
“The government is confident that AI is a catalyst for improving the quality of existing jobs and creating new high-skilled jobs,” he said.
Ramanan then cited a Talent Corporation Malaysia (TalentCorp) study which found that 697,000 jobs were expected to be heavily affected by AI, digitalisation and the green economy over the next three to five years if workers do not reskill.
“We are placing emphasis on reskilling and upskilling, including for workers at risk of losing their jobs,” he said, adding that 120 new roles have been identified as growing in importance.
He said the ministry was running training programmes through the Skills Development Department and the Manpower Department.
Under the accredited training programme system, 26,529 people were certified between January and end-May through 1,661 accredited centres.
A further 2,506 were certified under the Academy in Industry programme, which has been expanded into microelectronics and mechatronics at three advanced technology campuses.
Ramanan said the MyMahir platform of TalentCorp offered an AI training module under its SkillsLab, with graduates securing jobs at starting salaries 5% to 15% above the average.
He said the Skills Development Fund Corporation (PTPK) and the National TVET Council had set aside a RM100mil grant for seven high-growth, high-value fields including AI, expected to benefit 4,167 trainees.
Of that group, 70 trainees had been approved for AI training as of end-May, involving RM420,000.
Over the same January to June 12 period, 605,168 job vacancies were advertised on the MYFutureJobs portal against 188,062 job seekers, including those who had lost their jobs.
"The ministry is working to ensure the shift towards digitalisation and AI does not threaten the jobs of millions of Malaysians," Ramanan said.
PERKESO recorded 62,644 job placements between January and June 12.
It paid out RM248.23mil in Employment Insurance System benefits to eligible workers who had lost their jobs between January and end-May.
He said Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) had approved 1,198 automation and AI training programmes as of May, involving 27,754 training places and RM30.25mil in funding.
A total of 108,125 employers and 5.12 million workers are registered for training.
