MDEC rolls out US$24mil MyDigitalWorkForce Work in Tech initiative

• US$24mil in training and salary incentives, benefiting more than 300 companies
• Two components, DBS & DTA, aimed at fresh grads and unemployed citizens 

THE Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has announced the MyDigitalWorkForce Work In Tech (MYWiT) initiative, described as a training and hiring incentive programme aimed at boosting the digital business services sector as well as developing quality tech talent in Malaysia.

This initiative is an extension of the #MyDigitalWorkforce Movement that MDEC launched last year, which aims to help reskill and upskill Malaysians for digital economy jobs.

The objective of the initiative is to upskill and subsidise talents and businesses with US$24.14 million (RM100 million) in training and salary incentives. More than 300 companies within these sectors are expected to gain from this program while an estimated 6,000 job opportunities will be created with the aim to produce at least 1,000 quality tech talent.

[RM1 = US$0.241]

This, MDEC said, is in line with the government’s Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital) which targets to create 500,000 jobs for Malaysians by 2025.

“The Government is cognisant of the challenges brought about by the pandemic and today’s announcement is a testament of our continued effort to not only sustain the tech industry but also serves as a boost to increase our capabilities and capacities, to enable the digital business industry to survive and thrive,” said Saifuddin Abdullah, Malaysia’s Minister of Communications and Multimedia (pic, left).

“Together with MDEC, we will continue to drive the digital economy forward and accelerate towards achieving the goals as set forth in MyDigital in ensuring a shared prosperity for all.”

Dr Rais Hussin, chairman of MDEC, said that digitalisation and 4IR technologies are vital for businesses and the Malaysian workforce, especially in a landscape transformed by the pandemic.

“Through this initiative, MDEC will pursue its mandate in ensuring that we bring innovation and advancement in the workplace and businesses in support of the MyDigital promise,” he continued.

“Skilling Malaysians digitally as facilitated by employer-incentivised programmes like MYWiT, counters unemployment, progressing our nation along the Malaysia 5.0 journey.”

Main components

MyWiT is made up of two main components: the Digital Business Services (DBS) and Digital Tech Apprenticeship (DTA) initiatives.

DBS is aimed at incentivising companies who are hiring fresh graduates or unemployed Malaysians for digital business services roles within their organisation and offers a minimum incentive between US$2,375 and US$4,980 (RM9,800 and RM20,600) per employee.

[RM1 = US$0.241]

For each employee this incentive will be divided into two parts - the salary incentive, which will cover 40% of the employee’s monthly wage for six months (minimum salary of RM2,000); and a RM5,000 training incentive.

The training courses eligible for this include in-house training with a minimum of 40 hours or “Work and Learn” courses listed on MDEC’s Digital Skills Training Directory. There are 180 courses listed to date on the website.

Meanwhile, the DTA is targeted at companies that are hiring unemployed Malaysians for high demand tech jobs in areas such as Data Science, Software Development and Cybersecurity, offering a total incentive package of RM15,200 per employee.

This constitutes a salary incentive of RM1,200 per month for a period of six months and training incentive worth RM8,000 per employee. Employers will be expected to pay a minimum salary of RM3,000 from the fourth month onwards.

Employers may select training courses from the “Career Upgrade” courses listed on MDEC’s Digital Skills Training Directory, have been reviewed and endorsed by industry practitioners.

“The skills demanded today is something MDEC is closely keeping tabs on. Our recent analysis among various job search sites, namely LinkedIn, Jobstreet, Monster, Indeed and Jobstore, show an increasing demand for digital jobs. A total of 47,000 tech-related jobs were advertised in all five portals up to February 2021,” Surina Shukri, chief executive officer of MDEC, pointed out.

“MDEC targets to incentivise tech companies prepared to hire, upskill and adequately compensate the Malaysian workforce, directly averting the impact that Covid-19 is exerting on unemployment.”

To qualify for both the DBS and DTA incentives, the company must be incorporated in Malaysia and is committed to offering employment for a minimum of 12 months. Maximum hiring quota is set at 500 pax for DBS and 50 for DTA.

On the other hand, individuals seeking to benefit from MyWiT must be Malaysian citizens and must not be a current or past beneficiary of any of MDEC’s MyWiT incentives or part of PenjanaKerjaya 2.0 and Penjana KPT-CAP programmes.

DBS is open to fresh graduates, unemployed and retrenched individuals while the DTA is open to the unemployed and retrenched employees.

More about MYWiT and the programmes here.