The ceremony was witnessed by YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Prime Minister of Malaysia (center) with YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Minister of Human Resources (far right), K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia (standing, second from left), Datuk Shahul Hameed Dawood, Chief Executive at HRD Corp (standing, second from right) and Dr Jasmine Begum, Director of Legal, Government & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft ASEAN and New Markets (far left).

The Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) and Microsoft Malaysia will be driving the training and development efforts for 300,000 Malaysian professionals in the next three years. This will be done to support the growth of the nation’s digital-ready workforce.

The initiative is part of the MOU signed between HRD Corp and Microsoft under the Bersama Malaysia initiative recently, where the global tech giant announced its long-term commitment to empower Malaysia’s digital economy and achieve the nation’s MyDigital aspirations.

Through this partnership, Microsoft will be sharing its digital skilling content with HRD Corp. These will include free learning paths aligned to the most in-demand jobs offered by LinkedIn, Microsoft and GitHub as part of their global skills initiative. Microsoft will also be providing its industry content on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and digital transformation for businesses. HRD Corp will focus on developing and facilitating training and certification programmes through its comprehensive network and platform, as well as identifying, attracting and securing the right trainees.

According to the Honourable Minister of Human Resources, Datuk Seri M Saravanan, “We are pleased to support Microsoft and the government’s national digital transformation efforts by skilling the right digital talents for the various industry and business needs. This public-private partnership featuring Microsoft, MAMPU, HRD Corp and other leading local private sector players will be the game-changer in the way we develop our people and subsequently, our economy. This is also a great opportunity for Malaysians to embrace new skills development opportunities that will make them more employable and valuable in the long term.”

Commenting on the partnership, K. Raman, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia said, “As Malaysia sets its sights on a digital-first future, we need to equip our future workforce with the relevant skillsets that will make them resilient and competitive. This is why Microsoft is actively partnering with HRD Corp as well as other stakeholders within the public and private sectors. This is in line with our goal of empowering every person and organisation in Malaysia to achieve more in the digital economy.”

Both Microsoft and HRD Corp will also be leveraging HRD Corp’s Placement Center to help provide placement and employment opportunities to successful participants. The partnership will also create opportunities for Microsoft and HRD Corp to embark on joint certification programmes in the long term.

“At HRD Corp, we are rapidly going beyond facilitating training programmes for the Malaysian workforce to empowering Malaysian talents to secure the best professional opportunities for their skills, experience and knowledge. HRD Corp believes that this effort by Microsoft and the government will put Malaysians in good stead to secure the host of employment and income-generating opportunities in the digital economy locally and internationally, in the long term,” said Datuk Shahul Hameed Dawood, Chief Executive of HRD Corp.

As part of the Bersama Malaysia initiative, Microsoft is also working with its partners to establish the MyDigital Alliance Leadership Council, a multi-stakeholder platform that will collaborate to develop cloud-first and digital-native policy recommendations for the government. Datuk Shahul Hameed, the CE of HRD Corp is also a key member of the council which aims to accelerate the development of Malaysia’s digital workforce and ensure that they are globally competitive in the long run.