MDeC’s knowledge worker development center officially launched

• Seven partners on board to invest and develop domain areas
• RM27.34mil KDC facility a new milestone for k-worker development

THE Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) has officially launched its Knowledge Workers Development Center (KDC), which was established to accelerate the development of local k-workers.
 
MDeC, the national agency in charge of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia) initiative to drive ICT development, also announced seven technology and training partners for the KDC, which has actually been in operation since May.
 
These partners will invest and help establish the requisite components to support the training and development of knowledge workers in specific ICT domain areas to boost talent development, MDeC said in a statement.
 
“The realization of the KDC in partnership with leading industry players is a step in the right direction to nurture local talent,” said Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Seri Panglima Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili (pic).
 
“I am pleased to learn that the KDC has already secured a total investment of RM27.34 million (US$8.82 million) from leading industry partners including Huawei, IBM Global Development Centre, Agilent Technologies, Altera, KRU, Dream Catcher and iTrain,” he said.
 
The KDC will serve as:

• A shared center for the MSC Malaysia community that provides training labs to produce industry-relevant local k-workers; and
• A regional professional training and testing hub that will raise the profile of the city of Cyberjaya, the center of most MSC Malaysia activity

“KDC’s key differentiation is in its close engagement and interaction with the industry,” said MDeC chief executive officer Datuk Badlisham Ghazali (pic, center).
 
“The courses offered are based on actual current and emerging industry demand, derived from MDeC’s on-going interaction with the industry. The leading technology companies themselves will be running the training programs with their latest equipment, software and training content.
 
“As such, we expect the most up-to-date content and experts to be conducting the training,” he said.
 
Since it opened its doors in May, the KDC has already seen over 1,000 Malaysian k-workers undergoing training there, according to Badlisham.
 
MDeC has over the years rolled out other talent development programs aimed at both students and working professionals. Recent examples include the MSC Malaysia MyUniAlliance and MyProCert certification program, which is part of the Human Capital Development Strategic Reform initiative, a project under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).