M'sia to offer free skills development courses to 5 million Asean citizens

KUALA LUMPUR: About five million Asean citizens are expected to benefit from the 65,000 free skills development courses offered by Malaysia, worth nearly RM2.5 billion, said Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.
He said this initiative, which aligns with the 2025 Asean Year of Skills, covers courses in areas such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation, green technology and leadership.
He added that the courses would be offered in conjunction with National Training Week from June 14 to 21.
'The courses will be offered with the participation of top global training entities such as Microsoft, Udemy, AwanTech, Alibaba Cloud and many more, including our own Malaysian training providers.
'This is what we are bringing to the table. For the first time, we will be expanding these high-quality training opportunities beyond our own borders to our friends all over Asean.
'We aim to train throughout this one whole week to provide exposure to these high-quality skills training courses to at least five million people – citizens of Asean.'
He was speaking at the Asean Human Capital Development Investment Symposium held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre yesterday.
Sim said Malaysia aims to build a meaningful partnership with other Asean countries to transform the region into the most skilled in the world.
He added that the initiative aims to bridge talent gaps across member states and foster a more agile and competitive regional workforce.
Sim said Malaysia would also host several other regional events – the Asean Training Market Conference in July, the Asean TVET Conference in August and the Asean Labour Ministerial Meeting Forum in October.

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