Through ‘Digital Skills for Tomorrow’s Jobs’ programme, 25,000 participants will gain digital skills via webinars, lab assessments and online mentorship, in addition to the training from the career track of their choice

KUALA LUMPUR, 31 March 2021 – Microsoft Malaysia together with the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) and the Junior Achievement Malaysia Berhad (JAMB), have forged a new partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to upskill 25,000 Malaysians through the ‘Digital Skills for Tomorrow’s Jobs’ programme. The year-long initiative will see Microsoft, SOCSO, and JAMB working together as part of the joint efforts to nurture and empower the nation’s digital workforce through skills enhancement and digitalisation.

“Public-private partnerships are important enablers to develop competent digital talent through upskilling and reskilling of the workforce, in achieving MyDIGITAL’s aspiration to become a regional leader in the digital economy,” said Dato’ Sri Dr. Mohammed Azman Bin Dato’ Aziz Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer of SOCSO. “The reskilling and upskilling of the Malaysian workforce, especially those affected by the pandemic, are essential to help them find success in the digital economy. We are excited with this partnership and together we are committed to addressing the challenges faced by our local talents and help strengthen Malaysia’s digital workforce.”

“With our Malaysia’s future anchored on a digital-first economy, the digital workforce will be an important driver for the nation’s economic recovery,” said K. Raman, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia. “People are the most important renewable resources that we must continue to invest in, as every job will increasingly require digital skills. Together with SOCSO and JAMB, we look forward to supporting and empowering our nation’s digital workforce and equip more Malaysians with digital skills, enabling them to remain competitive and succeed in Malaysia’s digital-first economy.”

Through the MOU, Microsoft, SOSCO and JAMB will be collaborating to provide digital skills to 25,000 participants from Malaysia. With CloudSwyft’s support as the initiative’s Learning Management System provider, these participants will begin their virtual training with orientation via webinars, introducing them to career paths involving digital skills, data science courses as well lab assessments based on Microsoft training materials. These courses are also offered in English and Bahasa Malaysia, easing the barrier to entry and make it more accessible to everyone.

Participants who complete the orientation will then receive digital credentials which can be showcased on their professional portfolio and on their LinkedIn profile. Once the orientation is completed, selected participants can continue their learning journey based on their preferred career tracks available, namely data analyst, data scientist, development operations, software developer and IT support. Each career track provides between 10 to 20 hours of training, whilst also providing participants with access to one hour of online mentoring.

“Business and organisations all around the globe have transformed, adopting new technologies to continue operating under unprecedented circumstances brought forth by COVID-19,” said Datuk Timothy Garland, Junior Achievement Malaysia Board Trustee. “Alongside the rise in demand for technology, comes a rise in demand for digital skills – presenting incredible opportunities for people to find a career that they can be passionate about. Alongside Microsoft and SOCSO together with CloudSwyft as our Learning Management System partner, we aim to bring digital skills to Malaysians and arm them for the jobs of the future.”

Additionally, SOCSO and JAMB will be working closely with selected participants who have successfully completed both the orientation and digital skills training to further develop their soft skills and identify opportunities for these participants to gain relevant employment, internship or practical training opportunities.

Microsoft’s partnership with SOCSO and JAMB through ‘Digital Skills for Tomorrow’s Jobs’ is in support of Malaysia’s vision to be a digitally-driven high-income nation and a regional leader in the digital economy, as outlined in MyDIGITAL. A key strategy to achieving this is the empowerment of a digital workforce in Malaysia as key drivers of the nation’s inclusive, responsible and sustainable socioeconomic development.

The ‘Digital Skills for Tomorrow’s Jobs’ programme serves as an extension of Microsoft’s on-going Global Skills Initiative (GSI), which was launched last year to address growing employment challenges resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Microsoft announced yesterday it has helped over 30 million people worldwide gain access to digital skills since last June, of which over 110,000 of them are from Malaysia. Microsoft also announced newly launched resources to help job-seekers and employers move to a skills-based economy. This includes a commitment to extend free LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn courses and low-cost certifications that align to 10 of the most in-demand jobs through December 31, 2021.