Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has reaffirmed its strong commitment to developing a world-class skills training sector by expanding its annual National Training Week (NTW) beyond national borders for the first time, aiming to benefit at least 5 million citizens across ASEAN, with an estimated value of almost USD600 million (RM2.5 billion).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong announced that the NTW, scheduled for June 14-21, will provide 65,000 free skills development courses. These courses will cover areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), digitalisation, green tech, and leadership. The initiative will feature participation from top global training entities like Microsoft, Udemy, Awantech, and Alibaba Cloud, alongside Malaysian training providers.
"For the first time, we will be expanding these high-quality training opportunities beyond our borders to our friends all over ASEAN. Throughout the one week, we aim to provide exposure to these high-quality skills training courses to at least 5 million people, citizens of ASEAN. This is Malaysia's investment in ASEAN. It is an investment for human capital development. Again, our ambition is to make ASEAN the most skilled region in the world through deeper and more meaningful partnership with our fellow member states," Sim stated in his opening address at the ASEAN Human Capital Development Investment Symposium (AHCDIS).
The event, which took place at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), also saw the presence of Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) chairman Datuk Abu Huraira Abu Yazid. Sim highlighted that the two-day symposium is the first of four major events under the ASEAN Year of Skills (AYOS) 2025 banner. This will be followed by the ASEAN Training Market Conference in July, the ASEAN TVET Conference in August, and the Global Skills Forum along with an ASEAN Labour Ministerial Meet Forum in October.
Sim expressed hope that participants would utilize these platforms to strengthen the human capital development sector network across the region, fostering growth and development to make ASEAN the most skilled region globally, thereby attracting talents, investments, and innovations.
Introduced in May 2023, NTW is a full week of nationwide training events and activities that bring together organizations and individuals from various backgrounds and industries to explore learning and development opportunities.