ICT Human Capital Framework

8/3/2019 ICT Human Capital Framework

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By

NATIONAL ICT

HUMAN

RESOURCES

TASKFORCE

ICT HUMAN CAPITAL

DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORKFinal Version October 2010


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ICT HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

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NATIONAL ICT HUMAN RESOURCES TASKFORCE Page 2

Foreword by Minister of Higher Education

This ICT Human Capital Development Framework is conceptualized at a very important and crucial

time - when our country is accelerating our effort to transform from a middle-income country to a

high income, developed nation, as called for in the New Economic Model (NEM). Critical for this

transformation are the quality of our human capital, innovation, and the effective adoption of ICT in

both the supply and demand sides. I believe this ICT Human Capital Development Framework

outlines the required integrated approach that will address the many issues and challenges that face

the human capital for ICT in Malaysia, while seizing the opportunities that arise out of globalization

and the rapid pace of technological development. This ICT Human Capital Development Framework

sets out a clear and compelling vision and suggests the principles and policy measures that are

needed to ensure that as a country, Malaysia will have a continued access to quality and competitive

workforce.

I take this opportunity to thank the National ICT Taskforce and all the stakeholders who contributed

toward the development of this framework. This framework is a manifestation of a multi-

stakeholder, inclusive and collaborative process to address the perennial issue of the mismatch

between ICT skills supply and demand, and prepare our most precious resource human capital to

take Malaysia to the next level of growth. I urge all involved now to forge even closer collaboration

to turn this framework into actionable programs that will yield the outcomes that we all want for our

country.


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Acknowledgement

This ICT Human Capital Development Framework is the result of a series of consultations, dialogues,

and workshops among the members of the National ICT Human Resource Taskforce and key

ministries, agencies and industry organizations. Grateful acknowledgement is accorded to the

following parties for their valuable contribution.

Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MOHE)

o Prof. Dr. Rujhan Mustafa, Deputy Director General (IPTA Sector)

ICT Human Resource Taskforce, Technology Roadmap Taskforce and MADICT Committee.

o Prof. Dr. Khairuddin Ab Hamid, Vice Chancellor, UNIMAS (Chairman)

o Prof. Dr. Zaharin Yusoff, President, MMU (Alternate Chairman)

o Prof. Dato Ir. Dr. Mashkuri Yaacob, Vice Chancellor, UNITEN

o Prof. Dr. Aziz Deraman, Vice Chancellor, UMT

o Prof. Dr. Narayanan Kulathuramaiyer, Dean, UNIMAS (Secretary)

o Prof. Dr. Rosni Abdullah, Dean, USM

o Prof. Dr. Haji Shahrin Sahib@Sahibuddin, Dean, UTeM

o

Prof. Dr. Abdul Hanan Abdullah, Dean, UTM

o Prof. Dato Dr. Halimah Badioze Zaman, UKM

o Prof. Dr. Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar, UTM

o Prof. Dr. Tengku Mohamad Tengku Sembok,Assistant Vice Chancellor, UPNM

o Prof. Dr. Abu Talib Othman, Deputy President, UniKL

o Prof. Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin, Director, CASE, UTM

o Prof. Madya Dr. Suhaidi Hassan, Assistant Vice Chancellor, UUM

Majlis Dekan ICT Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam (MADICT)

Malaysia National Computer Confederation (MNCC)

o YM Dato Dr. Raja Malik Raja Mohamed, President,

o Tuan Syed Mohamad Syed Hussin, Executive Director

o Mr. R. Kunaseelan


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Persatuan Industri Komputer dan Multimedia (PIKOM)

o Mr. Shaifubahrim Saleh, President, PIKOM

Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI)

o Dr Amirul Abdul Wahab, Secretary, ICT Policy Division

o Mr. Ooi Seong Hoe, Deputy Secretary, ICT Policy Division

Unit Pemodenan Tadbiran dan Perancangan Pengurusan Malaysia (MAMPU)

o Dato Normah Md. Yusof, Director General (up until 31st

May 2010)

o Dato Dr. Nor Aliah Mohd Zahri, Deputy Director General - ICT

Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA)

o Dato Ab. Khalil Ab. Hamid, Deputy Director General, JPA

MIMOS Berhad

o Dr. Chandran Elamvazuthi, Senior Director, Technology Management Unit

Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)

o Mr. Imran Kunalan Abdullah, General Manager, K-Worker Development

o Dr. Yew Kok Meng, Senior Manager, K-Worker Development

MSC Technology Centre Sdn. Bhd. (MSCTC)

o Mohamad Suhaimi Mohamad Tahir, CEO (As Consultant)


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1 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 7

2 Why do we need an ICT Human Capital Development Framework? ........................................... 10

2.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 10

2.2 Vision and Goals ................................................................................................................... 10

3 What are the opportunities? .......................................................................................................... 12

3.1 Aligning with and supporting National Transformation ....................................................... 12

3.1.1 New Economic Model (NEM) ...................................................................................... 13

3.1.2 10th

Malaysia Plan ......................................................................................................... 14

3.2 Talent to implement National ICT strategies ........................................................................ 16

3.2.1 MyICMS886 strategy .................................................................................................... 16

3.2.2 National ICT Roadmap ................................................................................................. 17

3.2.3 MSC Malaysia 2.0 (2010-2020) .................................................................................... 18

3.3 Demand for ICT talent expected to grow .............................................................................. 19

4 What are the issues and root causes? ............................................................................................ 22

4.1 Gradual decline in the number of ICT graduates .................................................................. 22

4.1.1 Contributing factors for decline of ICT enrolment ....................................................... 24

4.2 Short shelf life of ICT talent in Malaysia ............................................................................. 25

4.3 Predominant consumer culture .............................................................................................. 26

4.4 Lack of Professional Body for ICT workforce ..................................................................... 274.5 Heavy focus on middle income activities ............................................................................. 28

4.6 Regional competition ............................................................................................................ 28

4.7 Mismatch of supply and demand of ICT skills ..................................................................... 29

4.8 The root causes for decline in quality ICT HR ..................................................................... 31

5 What needs to be done? ................................................................................................................ 34

5.1 Raise workforce competency ................................................................................................ 35

5.1.1 Strengthen ICT curriculum with demand-driven approach........................................... 35

5.1.2 Strengthen ICT foundation in education system ........................................................... 37

5.1.3 Expand enrolment in ICT .............................................................................................. 38

5.2 Build greater R&D and innovative capacity ......................................................................... 385.2.1 Channel R&D and commercialisation to strategic focus areas ..................................... 38

5.2.2 Establish a Boutique ICT University ............................................................................ 43

5.2.3 Increase tri-partite collaboration in Research, Development & Commercialisation ..... 44

5.3 Institutionalise professional recognition and standards ........................................................ 45

5.3.1 Form a Board of Computing Professionals Malaysia ................................................... 45

5.3.2 Promote professional development of practitioners ...................................................... 47

5.3.3 Re-brand and promote ICT as career of choice ............................................................ 49

6 What are the expected outcomes? ................................................................................................. 51

7 Conclusion and the next steps ....................................................................................................... 52

TABLE OF CONTENT


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Appendix 1Key abbreviations used in this framework ..................................................................... 54

Appendix 2Major References of Data and Analysis ......................................................................... 55

Appendix 3Professionalism of ICT Action Plan ............................................................................ 56

Appendix 4

Current Milestones for ICT Human Capital Framework ............................................... 57

Table of Figures:

Figure 1 : National Transformation Blueprint ...................................................................................... 13

Figure 2 : Strategic Directions for 10th

Malaysia Plan .......................................................................... 15

Figure 3 : MyICMS886 strategy ........................................................................................................... 17

Figure 4 : Technology Focus Area ....................................................................................................... 18

Figure 5 MSC 2.0 strategic framework ................................................................................................. 19

Figure 6 : ICT Demand projection and skill level ................................................................................ 20Figure 7: Decline in ICT Graduates ...................................................................................................... 22

Figure 8: Breakdown of ICT and non-ICT courses .............................................................................. 23

Figure 9 : Annual number of ICT graduates produced ......................................................................... 24

Figure 10 : Language Proficiency Graduates ........................................................................................ 26

Figure 11 : Shortage of talents .............................................................................................................. 29

Figure 12 : ICT Job Outlook ................................................................................................................. 30

Figure 13 : Mismatch of supply and demand ........................................................................................ 30

Figure 14: Frequency of ICT curriculum review by IHL's ................................................................... 32

Figure 15: Stakeholder interaction for curriculum review .................................................................... 33

Figure 16 : Structure of K-12 Computer Science Curriculum .............................................................. 37

Figure 17 : Generic ICT R&D Framework ........................................................................................... 40

Figure 18 : Focus areas of Strategic ICT Roadmap fitting into this generic R&D framework ............ 41

Figure 19 : National ICT R&D framework encompasses many strategic focus areas .......................... 42

Figure 20 : ICT Professional Development ......................................................................................... 48


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1 Executive Summary

Malaysia had as long ago as the mid-1990s identified ICT as a key economic driver in her effort to

shift to a knowledge-based economy and achieve the vision of becoming a developed nation by the

year 2020. The most significant and ambitious is the 1996 launch of the national ICT initiative, the

Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC Malaysia) which has brought considerable success in creating jobs,

spawning many successful ICT companies, generating exports and putting Malaysia on the map as

one of the worlds top destinations for ICT investment. However, these successes breed its own set

of challenges, and coupled with the fast changing and competitive dynamics of the ICT landscape,

the factors that have helped Malaysia succeed are no longer sufficient to propel Malaysia to the

level of growth needed to achieve vision 2020. Chief among the challenges is the insufficient supply

of skilled ICT human resource to meet the needs of the industry and economy at large. The lack of

in-depth technical knowledge and soft skills has led to low employability. This was further

compounded by the unfortunate perception portrayed by the media on this matter thus

discouraging a large number of students who would have otherwise pursued ICT studies as their first

choice.

The situation is now critical as the countrys output of ICT graduates in terms of quantity and quality

is woefully inadequate and threatens the success of the New Economic Model (NEM) that was

launched by the Prime Minister in March 2010 to transform Malaysia into a high income economy by

2020. The NEM stresses economic development through productivity and innovation features of

advanced economies such as Singapore, South Korea, US and Finland - that make extensive use ICT.

Malaysia must accelerate the development of its ICT talent pool if it is to achieve its aim of making

the quantum leap to a developed high income nation status. What is required now is an integrated

approach that will address the many issues and challenges that face the human capital in the ICT

sector in Malaysia. This proposed ICT Human Capital Development Framework sets out a clear and

compelling vision and outlines the principles and policy measures that are needed to ensure

Malaysia has access to such a workforce.

The Vision : To secure Malaysias supply of world-class ICT professionals who will support the

nations ambitions to be a net producer of competitive ICT-based solutions for the global market,

and facilitate the higher adoption of ICT in private and public sectors.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYChapter 1


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The Goals :

1. To nurture quality minds who will contribute towards our countrys goal of becoming a high-

income developed nation with significant standing in the global economy.

2. To inculcate strong research and development (R&D), commercialisation and professional

culture within a dynamic, efficient, and effective ICT workforce.

3. As input, to produce ICT graduates who are consistently relevant to current and future

industries thereby ensuring a long career shelf life.

4. To increase the commercialisation of quality ICT applications for the global market in niche

areas.

5. To increase the value of the ICT profession so that it will be an attractive and sustainable

career option.

The framework will focus on three strategic thrusts, within which several policy measures are

recommended, although these are not yet exhaustive at this stage.

Strategic Thrust Recommended Policy

ST1:

Raise workforce competencies

Strengthen ICT curriculum with demand-driven approach

Strengthen ICT foundation in Malaysias education system

Expand enrolment in ICT

ST2:

Build greater R&D and

innovative capacity

Channel R&D and Commersialisation towards strategic focus

areas

Establish a boutique ICT university

Increase tri-partite collaboration in Research, Development

and Commercialisation

ST3:

Institutionalise professional

recognition and standards

Form a national ICT professional body

Promote professional development of practitioners

Re-brand and promote ICT as career of choice


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The strategic thrusts and actions need to be detailed into an implementation plan and must be

executed with a focus to achieve measurable outcomes in the next 10 years. The following is the

initial list of suggested outcomes:

A secure supply of qualified ICT professionals

Meeting the goals of RMK-10

Matching of ICT skills supply and demand on a sustained basis

ICT sector contributes 20% to GDP

Sustained improvement in productivity and GDP growth

In conclusion, the National ICT Human Resource Taskforce fully recognises that several of the policy

recommendations and measures to improve the quality and employability of our ICT graduates are

either being planned or have been initiated by the Government and stakeholders through other

committees and forums. The Taskforces recommendations in this framework aim to provide the

anchor point and clarity on the most important issues and their proposed solutions. Subsequently,

this framework needs to be developed into a roadmap with an implementation plan and the

identification of corresponding, responsible organizations to drive the programs.

The following policy proposals that are more comprehensive including implementation plans have

been or are being developed to cover the following strategic thrusts:

- Improving ICT curriculum (MADICT, MQA)

- ICT Technology and R&D Roadmap (MOSTI, MIMOS)

- ICT Professionalism Roadmap (MNCC)

As has been recommended in the third strategic thrust, and this cannot be emphasised enough,

there is an urgent need to re-brand and market the ICT profession so that more bright students will

enrol in ICT courses, and more ICT practitioners will consistently upgrade their skills to remain

relevant and valuable in this field.

Finally, a critical step needed is the establishment of a program monitoring mechanism that will also

receive feedback to ensure that strategies and programs being implemented do achieve their goals.


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2 Why do we need an ICT Human Capital Development Framework?

2.1 BackgroundThe idea to put together this ICT Human Capital Development Framework was originated by a group

of academicians, ICT professionals and a few government bodies who were concerned over the

direction of ICT programs in the universities as well as the quality of ICT graduates coming out of

these programs and their ability to perform in the workplace. This problem of the mismatch

between the supply of ICT human resources and the demand of the ICT market place has been

around for many years. The lack of in-depth technical knowledge coupled with the lack of soft skills

and proficiency in English language among our graduates have been the main reasons for these

graduates not able to secure gainful employment. Attempts to solve these problems have been

made by various stakeholders for several years now. Subsequently, a high-powered National ICT

Human Resource Taskforce that comprised of carefully selected members from universities,

industries and the Government sector was formed in 2008 to address these critical issues and work

towards a common goal of producing world-class ICT human resources to help our country realize

her national aspirations. More specifically, this common goal is to ensure that our country will have

a sustainable supply of ICT human resources with numbers and strengths in the right ICT domains

and places throughout the national ICT eco-system.

One of the immediate tasks was ensuring that the universities are constantly engaging with all key

stakeholders in keeping their respective curriculum and programs relevant with the market needs,

especially along national policies and strategies such as the MSC Malaysia, the National Strategic ICT

Roadmap, and more recently, the New Economic Model (NEM) and 10th

Malaysia Plan (10MP).

The members of the taskforce are listed in the Acknowledgement section.

2.2 Vision and GoalsFollowing several consultations and workshops that deliberated on the issues and goals to produce

the needed human capital for ICT, the National ICT human resources taskforce has adopted thefollowing as the vision for this ICT Human Capital Development Framework

WHY DO WE NEED AN ICT HUMAN CAPITAL

DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK?

Chapter 2


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The Vision

To secure Malaysias supply ofworld-class ICT professionals who will support the nations ambitions

to be a net producer of competitive ICT-based solutions for the global market, and facilitate the

higher adoption of ICT in private and public sectors.

The Goals

There are five main goals:

To nurture quality minds who will contribute towards our countrys goal of becoming a high-

income developed nation with significant standing in the global economy.

To inculcate strong research and development (R&D), commercialisation and professional culture

within a dynamic, efficient, and effective ICT workforce.

As input, to produce ICT graduates who are consistently relevant to current and future industries

thereby ensuring a long career shelf life.

To increase the commercialisation of quality ICT applications for the global market in niche areas.

To increase the value of the ICT profession so that it will be an attractive and sustainable career

option.

There are several points to emphasize in this set of vision and goals. Firstly, as a country, we must

strive to be a producer of technology and solutions in this space. We can no longer just be a

predominantly consumer market. While the national ICT initiative MSC Malaysia has spawned many

companies that have regional presence and export earnings, our country has yet to produce a

global ICT company with sustained innovation. Secondly, we must produce talent and solutions for

not only Malaysia and the region but also for the global market. This is a tall order, but it has to be

done if we are to achieve a significant standing in the competitive global economy. Last but not

least, this framework sets out a path to make the ICT profession a recognized and rewarding career,

similar to the profession in engineering, architecture and medicine.


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3 What are the opportunities?

The country had as long ago as the mid-1990s identified ICT as a key economic driver in her effort to

shift to knowledge- based economy and achieve the vision of becoming a developed nation by the

year 2020. A major milestone of this journey is the establishment of the National IT Council (NITC) in

the early 1990s and the launch of the National ICT initiative, the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC

Malaysia), beginning in 1996. While this national ICT initiative and several other strategies have

achieved considerable successes in developing a sizeable ICT sector with strong export, creating

hundreds of thousands of jobs, and ICT-enabling other economic sectors, there remain a few major

impediments to our countrys journey towards a knowledge-based, developed nation. Key among

these impediments is the lack of a large talent pool in science, ICT and engineering.

Furthermore, as Malaysia shifts into a higher gear to achieve a high-income nation with the recent

policy of the New Economic Model and its emphasis on innovation and quality human capital, the

need for quality ICT human resource will be more vital and urgent than ever. Clearly, this is an

opportunity for all stakeholders in this space to work better together and coordinate their efforts

and programs to increase the pool of ICT talent.

The first step in this effort within this ICT Human Capital Development framework is to take stock of

the various national policies and ICT strategies and then ensure that these policies and strategies are

aligned and reinforced to achieve common goals. The second step is to identify and understand

what and where the demands are for ICT skills.

3.1 Aligning with and supporting National TransformationAs pronounced in early 2010, Malaysia acknowledge that it is trapped in the middle-income level

and risks further stagnation and thus will not be able to attain the vision 2020 if it does not shift

into higher gear to move the economy up the value chain. The Government has crafted a National

Transformation blueprint to move the country towards its next stage of development that is based

on four key pillars as outlined in the figure below.

WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES?Chapter 3


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Figure 1 : National Transformation Blueprint1

The first pillar is embodied in the principles of 1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now. These

principles are meant to unite all Malaysians who collectively represent the key stakeholders of the

Government. The second pillar is the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) that will deliver

the outcomes defined under the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs). The third critical pillar will be

the New Economic Model (NEM) resulting from an ambitious Economic Transformation Programme

(ETP) meant to transform Malaysia by 2020 into a developed and competitive economy whose

people enjoy a high quality of life and high level of income from growth that is both inclusive and

sustainable. The fourth pillar is the 10th Malaysia Plan 2011-2015 (10MP) which will represent the

first policy operationalisation of both the Government and economic transformation programmes.

The New economic Model and the 10th

Malaysia Plan are highlighted below.

3.1.1 New Economic Model (NEM)The New Economic Model that was announced in March 2010 is the re-structuring of Malaysias

economic policies to enable the country to become a high income and advanced nation by 2020. The

NEM is set to push Malaysia out of the middle income trap and address persistent socio-economic

disparities with a different approach from the past. It has 3 broad goals that must be attained

together: high income, inclusiveness and sustainability. The goals and outcomes of the NEM will be

1Source: New Economic Model


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achieved by the implementation of bold policy measures across 8 Strategic Response Initiatives

(SRIs)

1. Re-energizing the private sector

2. Developing quality workforce and reducing dependency on foreign labour3. Creating a competitive domestic economy

4. Strengthening of the public sector

5. Transparent and market friendly affirmative action

6. Building the knowledge base infrastructure

7. Enhancing the sources of growth

8. Ensuring sustainability of growth,

The second SRI above emphasises the development of highly skilled human resource. Within this SRI,

several policy measures with strong linkages to the focus of this Human Capital development

framework are proposed:

Review the education systemshift educational approach from rote learning to creative

and critical thinking

Increase emphasis on reintroducing technical and vocational training colleges

Identify and nurture talent through a demand-driven process

Improve autonomy and accountability of educational institutions

Encourage R&D collaboration between institutes of higher learning and industry

Enhance English language proficiency

Deliver high quality education, within reach of all localities

3.1.2 10th Malaysia PlanThe 10

thMalaysia plan (10MP) released in June 2010 by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, is the

blueprint that provides economic development policy directions, strategies and programs to chart

Malaysia growth for the period 2010 to 2015. The 10MP is one of the two long-term plans before

the year 2020 in which Malaysia aims to achieve a high income, developed nation status and raise

the standards of living for all Malaysians. This plan is best viewed as the operationalisation of the

economic transformation program to achieve the goals of the NEM.


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Figure 2 : Strategic Directions for 10th

Malaysia Plan2

As highlighted in the figure above, creative and innovative human capital with 21st

century skills is

critical to achieve the goal of attaining high income advanced economy. This demand for quality

human capital is emphasised by the Prime Minster in his foreword of the 10MP:

For Malaysia to be a high-income nation, we must be able to compete on a regional and global

stage. This requires redoubling our effort to attract investment, drive productivity and innovation.

The foundation of any productive high-income economy lies in a globally competitive, creative andinnovative workforce. To achieve this, an integrated approach to nurturing, attracting and retaining

first-world talent base will be implemented

The economic transformation that is now premised on innovation and productivity-led growth will

focus on 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs):

1. Oil and gas

2.

Palm oil and related-products3. Financial services

4. Wholesale and retail

5. Tourism

6. Information and Communications Technology7. Education

8. Electrical and electronic

9. Business services

2Source: Economic Planning Unit


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10.Private healthcare

11.Agriculture

12.Greater Kuala Lumpur

Of great relevance to this framework is that ICT is one of the targeted NKEAs, and it is also accepted

as the important enabler for other NKEAs, as it would help make those sectors more efficient,

productive and competitive. Also, the strategies to nurture, attract and retain talent are clearly

spelled out in the 10MP. 2 strategies that are very relevant are the setting up of the Talent

Corporation under the PM's Department in 2011 to source global top talent including among

Malaysian Diaspora, and the development of the National Talent Blueprint by 2011 to identify the

talent needs of priority economic sectors.

Therefore, this ICT Human Resource Development framework can and should serve as the basis to

identify the HR needs of strategic areas for ICT.

3.2 Talent to implement National ICT strategies

As a national policy since the mid 1990s, ICT is an important sector and enabler for Malaysiaseconomic development, instrumental for Malaysia to achieve the vision of becoming a developed,

knowledge-based economy by 2020. Such is the priority given to ICT that Malaysia has several inter-

related national ICT strategies and initiatives. Three national plans have been formulated and

implemented to address various issues and opportunities in ICT, ranging from infrastructure to

futuristic applications. The three plans are:

1. MyICMS 886 by Ministry of Energy Water and Communication (MEWC) in 2005.

2.

Strategic ICT Roadmap for Malaysia by MOSTI in 2007

3. MSC Malaysia 2.0 by MDeC, which will cover the year 2010-2020 to replace the MSC

Malaysia phase 2 strategy (2003-2010)

3.2.1 MyICMS886 strategyThis strategy launched 8 service areas that in turn were to catalyse and promote the development of

8 essential infrastructures both hard and soft. These services and infrastructures were aimed at


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generating growth in 6 areas including content development for education, games and

entertainment. The current service roll-out of High Speed Broadband by a few operators in Malaysia

is a direct realization of the MyICMS886 plan. The following figure lists the 8 services, 8

infrastructures and 6 growth areas.

Figure 3 : MyICMS886 strategy

3.2.2 National ICT RoadmapThis strategy calls for Malaysia to build the competencies, rationalize institutional arrangements, and

monitor development using the signposts-and-vision areas method in order for Malaysia to be a

global leader in 3 Technology Focus Areas (TFAs)and intensify Malaysias transformation to a

knowledge-based economy. The 3 TFAs are Wireless Sensor Networks, Predictive Analytics and

3D Internet. A recurring theme of this strategic roadmap is the need to develop talent and

competencies in these 3 focus areas. Another strong emphasis is the fostering 3-way partnership

between the government, industry and academia to coordinate and focus the research,

development and commercialization efforts in these technologies. The main strategies of this

roadmap are summarized in the following figure.


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Figure 4 : Technology Focus Area3

3.2.3 MSC Malaysia 2.0 (2010-2020)MSC Malaysia has a 3-phase development plan that begun in 1996 up to the year 2020. Each phase

has its own strategy. This third and final part of the 3-phase strategy of MSC Malaysia aims to

continue building the ICT sector through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Domestic Direct

investment (DDI). However, the additional thrust is now for the ICT solutions, especially those

developed by MSC Malaysia status companies, to be widely used in the other economic sectors of

Malaysia to make them more productive and competitive. The third thrust of MSC Malaysia 2.0 is for

ICT to directly improve the quality of life for the society at large. While the strategy in phase 2 (2003-

2010) has spawned a few MSC Malaysia status companies to become leading companies in selected

regional markets (e.g Green Packet, Redtone, Iris Corporation, and Les Copaque to name a few),

there is now a concerted effort to push for many more MSC Malaysia solutions to succeed in the

global market. The ICT clusters being targeted in this phase are Software Solutions, ICT-enabled

services especially Shared Services Outsourcing (SSO), and creative content. The aim has always

been and will continue to be that more Malaysian solutions attain international success.

The MSC Malaysia 2.0 strategic framework is encapsulated in the following figure.

3Source: National ICT Roadmap


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Figure 5 MSC 2.0 strategic framework

To ensure that these goals are met, MDeC has introduced and carried out many ICT-enabled

initiatives and capability-development programs. The capability development programs are to equip

the ICT and knowledge workers of MSC Malaysia status companies with industry-needed skills up to

international certification. Examples of this include the Project Management Professional (PMP)

certification, software testing and quality assurance, and IT Service standards. MDeC collaborates

with the relevant government agencies and Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) to develop and

implement short-term and long-term programs to capacity and capabilities of knowledge workers in

the MSC.

3.3 Demand for ICT talent expected to growIt is clear from the national policies and strategies outlined above that ICT sector development and

ICT as a tool for development will continue to remain a national priority for this decade. Even after

the global recession of 2008-2009, ICT investment continues to grow world-wide. According to a

market research firm IDC (source: IDC directions 2009), the total Malaysia ICT market including

Telecommunications and consumer ICT products was worth USD 4.6 Billion in 2006 and this grew to

USD5.7B in 2008. This market is forecasted to grow to USD 8.1B in 2013, after taking into account

the many initiatives especially the implementation of the High Speed Broadband network that

started in 2009.


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Post the global recession in 2008-2009, it is clear that the ICT market is expected to grow at rates

higher than Malaysias GDP growth rate of 6% for many years to come. With this growth comes the

demand for more human resource with industry-relevant ICT skills. Already, there is an increased

demand for ICT talent especially in computer science and engineering.

A recent study by MDeC and carried out by Frost & Sullivan shows that demand for ICT professionals

is expected to grow from 244,643 workers to 293,703 by 2012, representing a 9.6 % growth rate.

This is shown in the figure below. An important point to note is that 41% of this demand is for

software development skills, followed by networking and security skills at 21%.

Figure 6 : ICT Demand projection and skill level4

Another study by PIKOM forecasts that the ICT industry will employ 497,000 workers in 2010. In

2012, the Shared Service and Outsourcing (SSO) sector of the industry is forecasted to employ

300,000 workers.

4Source: MDeC, Frost and Sullivan study 2009


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It is very important to stress that the present and potential demand for ICT skills must not be

confined to Malaysia alone, because it is a known fact that ICT is growing significantly in Asia Pacific,

especially in China, India, Korea, Philippines and Indonesia. Hence, the demand for ICT skills by

these countries presents significant opportunities to export not only ICT solutions but more so the

services and skills that go with these solutions. Also, the web and internet technologies have made

most ICT based jobs location independent. For instance, a software developer in Malaysia could be

working for a British Multi-National company serving its customers in China.

With global demand for ICT skills remaining high, and the big push by our government to turn

Malaysia into a high-income country by focusing on productivity and innovation, this means that a

fresh approach is needed to ensure that the nations supply of ICT talent is top-notch and caters for

the current and future needs of industries and economic sectors.

As such, the vision, goals and recommendations of this ICT Human Capital Development Framework

are timely to support and in many cases re-enforce the new economic policies and strategies of

Malaysia to achieve the high-income developed nation status.


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4 What are the issues and root causes?

The ICT sector has for many years grappled with the several main challenges concerning the quality

and employability of ICT graduates coming out of our countrys Institutions of Higher Learning

(IHLs). These challenges are the decline in number of qualified graduates, the short shelf life of ICT

professionals in the workplace due to the fast and dynamic pace of the ICT sector, and the mismatch

of ICT human resource supply with the demand. This section elaborates these challenges and their

contributing factors.

4.1 Gradual decline in the number of ICT graduatesDuring most of the 1990s up to the year 2001, there have been a healthy number of graduates in

ICT. This was attributed to the Governments policy emphasis on ICT especially the launch of MSC

Malaysia and its Flagship Applications in 1996. This was also a result of the liberalisation of the

higher education sector where many universities, especially by the private sector, were established

and the majority of them offered various types of ICT degree or diploma programs.

However, since 2002, there has been a drastic fall in enrolments and graduates in ICT, as highlighted

from the following statistics from the Ministry of Education.

Figure 7: Decline in ICT Graduates5

5Source: Frost & Sullivan study, 2009

WHAT ARE THE ISSUES AND ROOT CAUSES?Chapter 4


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As the figure above shows, there were over 119,000 students enrolling in ICT courses in 2002. By

2007, that figure fell to below 80,000. In 2002, over 53,000 ICT graduates were produced, but by

2007, that figure had dropped to 19,500.

According to a recent study commissioned by MDeC and undertaken by Frost & Sullivan, only 10.5 %

of students in Malaysian institutions of higher learning (IHL) were enrolled in ICT courses and the

number was staggeringly low compared to competitor countries.

Figure 8: Breakdown of ICT and non-ICT courses6

Another study that was done shows how far Malaysia is lagging behind in terms of producing the

type of advanced ICT graduates that are needed for an innovation-led economy. India and the

United States, for example, graduate 75,000 and 52,900 computer scientists respectively each year.

China, which currently brings 50,000 new ICT workers into the world every year, could eventually

provide 200,000 computer science graduates annually, according to Marty McCaffrey, executive

director of Software Outsourcing Research.

6

Source: MDeC, Frost & Sullivan study 2009, OECD education at a glance WMD world competitiveness report 2010


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Figure 9 : Annual number of ICT graduates produced7

In contrast, Malaysia produces about 15,000 to 10,000 graduates with ICT-related degrees of which

only 2,400 are computer science graduates.

4.1.1 Contributing factors for decline of ICT enrolmentSeveral factors are known to contribute to the declining popularity of ICT courses in IHL and hence

the decline in ICT enrolment:

a. Perception that ICT is not a promising career-. After the national euphoria for ICT during the

1990s up to the early part of this 21st

century, and certainly with the disillusionment resulting

from the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, ICT is no longer seen as the high growth sector it once

was. This issue was further compounded by the medias portrayal several years ago that

degrees in computing will not lead to employability in well paying jobs. A consequence of this is

that the cream of the prospective graduates are gravitating towards other disciplines such as

engineering, accountancy, and business courses, leaving mostly the average performing students

opting for ICT.

b. Impression about the use of Mathematics in ICT - The widespread impression amongst students

is that ICT courses need extraordinary proficiency in Mathematics. This is certainly not the case

as only Computer Science and Computer engineering courses have some emphasis on strong

7 Source: MDeC, Frost & Sullivan study 2009, OECD education at a glance WMD world competitiveness report 2010


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Mathematics. Nevertheless, this misconception has led to confusion amongst students and may

have discouraged them from choosing ICT courses.

c. Uninformed high school counsellorsMany students based their decision on courses to pursue

after consulting their career counsellors in school. Unfortunately, the majority of high school

counsellors are not fully aware of the trends, opportunities and career prospects in ICT.

Obviously, they are not in a position to adequately promote ICT as a good career to students.

Related to this is the lack of proper exposure of students to ICT at schools, which hampers their

understanding of ICT as a field of study and as a career option.

d. No formal professional recognition for ICT- Another contributing factor is partly due to the fact

that ICT is not a professionally recognized discipline. Without such recognition, ICT lacks the

prestige factor that attracts the best and brightest students to other professions such as

accountancy, engineering, architecture and medicine.

4.2 Short shelf life of ICT talent in MalaysiaThose working in the ICT field always face the constant challenge of remaining relevant. The fast

pace of technology means workers risk becoming obsolete unless they are constantly trained and

their skills upgraded in the relevant fields. This issue is also very dependent on the innovative

capacity of the organizations that these professionals find themselves in. It is public knowledge that

the majority of Malaysian organizations and businesses, especially the Small and Medium

Enterprises (SMEs) that as a group provide the largest employment for our graduates, are not

investing enough in ICT (Note that SMEs in Malaysia account for 35% of GDP, 57% of total

employment, and 20% of exports). Obviously, upward mobility for ICT professionals are very limited,

and in parallel, relevant and timely training in ICT that are properly planned and managed are the

exception rather than the norm in these organizations. This situation leads to many ICT professionals

moving on to management, or into the ICT end user environment, or to other business functions

midway in their careers. As a result, only a small number of the ICT workers become specialists.

Again, a contributing factor for this issue is the lack of a professional body that governs the quality

standard for the profession and promote life-long learning within the career. This matter is

discussed further in a subsequent sub-chapter.


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Additionally, the lack of English proficiency amongst graduates as highlighted in the following chart

makes it more difficult for them to engage in life-long learning and constant upgrading given that

most educational and ICT materials are written in English.

Figure 10 : Language Proficiency Graduates8

Other than that, many other factors may lead to threats of our short shelf life of ICT talents in

Malaysia. Some of them are elaborated in the following sub chapters.

4.3 Predominant consumer cultureHigh-income nations, such as South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, US and Australia, are able to generate

high levels of wealth due to the ability to create valuable intellectual property that are marketable

worldwide.

For Malaysia to join the league of high-income countries, it needs to establish a pipeline of talents

that can innovate and develop high value intellectual property based products. As it stands, the

country is mostly a consumer of technology products and not yet a significant producer. While the

MSC Malaysia national initiative has spawned several Malaysian companies with their own

technology and software that are exported, the indicators suggest that this is insufficient. To date,

there are no ICT companies in Malaysia that has become a global corporation with recognizable

brands like those from Korea, Taiwan, India and Singapore.

8Source : MOHE

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

SPM BM SPM English TOEFL

34.4

11.4 13.7

62

50.2 49.3

3.6

38.4 37

Distinction


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In terms of global patents, Malaysia also compares unfavourably. Malaysia is currently ranked only

30th

in terms of global patent filings with just 218 patents filed in 2009. This figure is less than many

leading corporations such as Japans consumer electronics corporation Panasonic that filed 1,891

patents in 2009, Chinas telecommunication corporation Huawei, which filed 1,847, and

Netherlands Philips, which filed 1,295 global patents.

All this implies that the majority of Malaysias companies and research institutions are not

aggressively investing in research and development.

4.4

Lack of Professional Body for ICT workforce

The lack of a professional body to define and monitor standards has led to confusion as to what

anICT career is and how it is made up of various disciplines, each with its unique set of attributes and

opportunities for development. Without this governing body, the ICT profession does not have a

single and proper advocate to chart out the various career development paths for ICT practitioners

and articulate industry issues to the public and private sectors. This issue also leads to the profession

not being seen as serious or as challenging as that of engineering or similar disciplines. Recall that

this matter has also contributed to the declining popularity and enrolment in ICT degree programs in

universities since 2002.

This should not be the case in this era when ICT professionals are heavily relied upon to conceive,

design, develop, implement and support numerous mission-critical applications in banking,

telecommunications, healthcare, transport, manufacturing and numerous service sectors. As more

of our globalized economy and quality of life are dependent on these mission-critical systems

enabled by ICT, the public and relevant authorities would be more assured if the ICT profession is

governed by a well-defined code of practice.

This absence of a professional body to govern and advice on the latest developments affecting the

ICT profession may also have led to the short shelf life for ICT workers and graduates in Malaysia.

While Malaysia has PIKOM as the association representing the ICT companies, there is now a critical

need for a body to represent and promote the ICT profession.


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4.5 Heavy focus on middle income activitiesThe nation is not currently focused adequately on preparing for the future high value niche areas

where Malaysia has a chance to stake out a leading position. The majority of Malaysian ICT workers

are currently focused on the lower to middle end of the value chain such as end user activities, data

centre and call centre operations, some software development, basic 3D animation, and

customization and support for packaged software from foreign Multi-National Companies (MNCs).

Higher-end activities such as the creation of world class software packages and services, 3D

animation movies such as those created by Pixar and DreamWorks studios in the US, hit games and

hard core computing such as database tuning for millions of users is not currently being done. To be

fair, there have been a few initiatives and policy statements in recent years urging organizations andbusinesses to use more ICT in higher value-added work and as a competitive strategy. Such

initiatives include the national ICT strategic roadmap and ICT planning and cluster development

initiatives by many state governments. However, these efforts are still fragmented and need to be

coordinated more effectively.

4.6 Regional competitionMalaysia is not alone in wanting to advance its economy and knowledge capacity. Other countries

are becoming increasingly competitive and have certain advantages over Malaysia, including a larger

population base. As has been highlighted in the previous section, many countries in Asia Pacific will

see significant growth in ICT investment in this and the next decade, and with this growth comes the

huge demand for highly-skilled ICT professionals.

While countries like India are already well known for their formidable ICT industry, less well known isthat neighbours like Vietnam and Indonesia are aggressively pushing ICT as one of the main pillars

for their economic development. This phenomenon raises the potential for a damaging talent drain

as countries like Singapore and Australia look to Malaysian talent to fill their own gaps in supply.


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4.7 Mismatch of supply and demand of ICT skillsThere is a growing mismatch between current supply and demand of industry relevant knowledge

workers in the ICT field in Malaysia. Whilst the number of graduates in the broadly defined ICT fieldis substantial, a huge majority does not meet the demand by industry for qualified Knowledge

workers in terms of quality and industry relevance. From the current supply of about 20,000 ICT

graduates per annum, only a mere 10-15% are deemed fit for employment. Although this problem

occurs in practically all countries including India, this percentage is distressingly low and merits

immediate action.

Another important point to note is that this talent shortage occurs in all areas of the ICT job

spectrum, with the biggest shortage found in software engineering, software programming,

networking and database, as highlighted in the following chart.

Figure 11 : Shortage of talents9

This issue is happening when ICT specialists are among the most sought after jobs by employers in

Malaysia, according to a study by PIKOM, KPMG and Jobstreet (see table below).

9Source: Frost & Sullivan study, 2009


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ICT Job Outlook (PIKOM/ KPMG/ Jobstreet March 2010)

Agriculture / Plantations / Aquaculture Automotive / Heavy Industry / Machinery Banking Institutions Chemical industries Construction / Building, including Civil Engineering Consulting , both Business and Technical Private Education Electrical & Electronics Sector Financial Services / Securities / Insurance / Hotel / Restaurant / Food Services Manufacturing Oil / Gas/ Petroleum industries Printing / Publishing Property / Real Estate Technology / Aerospace / Bio-technology Semiconductor / Wafer Fabrication Services Telecommunication Textiles / Garment Transport / Storage/ Freight / Shipping Utilities Wholesale / Retail/ Trading Call Centre / ICT- Enabled Services Computer / ICT (Hardware)

Computer / ICT (Software)

Junior ICT Executive less than 4 years of experience including

fresh entrants into the job markets;

Senior ICT Executive

5 or more years of working experience;

Middle ICT Manager as declared by the job seekers;

Senior ICT Manager as declared by the job seekers

TOP 10 SPECIALISATIONS EMPLOYERS SEEK1) Marketing & Business Development2) Sales/Marketing (Merchandising)3) Customer Service4) Computer & IT (Software)5) Engineering (Mechanical)6) Human Resources7) Sales/Marketing (Technical)8) General/Cost Accounting9) Top Management10) Clerical/General Administration

Figure 12 : ICT Job Outlook10

This mismatch is going to get more severe as the ICT sector is growing fast in line with national and

regional economic recovery. The following chart highlights the anticipated demand that cannot be

matched rising from 335 workers in 2009 to 19,668 workers. This chart also indicates that the

unmatched demand is not due to lack of supply but the lack of the right skills.

Figure 13 : Mismatch of supply and demand11

10Source: PIKOM/ KPMG/ Jobstreet


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The issues are noted by the industry players. According to the national ICT industry association

PIKOM, there is a need to address a shortfall of 40,000 knowledge workers in the ICT industry by

2012. Graduates with sound principles and foundation in Computer Science are badly needed to

address knowledge skills gap.

4.8 The root causes for decline in quality ICT HROur country is thus faced with 2 main challenges in ICT human resources right at a time when it is

embarking on a transformation to a new economic model that requires innovation, creativity and

productivity of its workforce: the overall decline in enrolment and graduates in ICT, and for thosewho actually graduate, their lack of skills and competencies as demanded by industry. What are the

roots causes for this decline? Studies and consultations among the stakeholders have identified the

following:

1. Lack of quality control and standardisation of ICT curriculum during the heady growth of ICT

and the liberalisation of higher education sector in the mid 1990s. During this period, the

number of new IHLs mushroomed. Almost all IHLs offered ICT-related diploma and degree

programs with different names and focus areas i.e. Bachelor of Computer Science, Bachelor

of Information Technology, Bachelor of Information Systems, to name a few. It can be safely

stated that many of these programs provide only general ICT knowledge and skill

development. When the graduates enter the workforce, many found that their skills and

knowledge are not adequate to fulfil their job functions. Employers from the industry have

been lamenting this issue for years. Coupled with other factors such as the dotcom bubble

burst in 2000 and its aftermath, and the medias portrayal of this employability issue,

many of the best students then opted for other courses, leaving mostly the averageperforming students opting for ICT. All these lead to the vicious cycle of the mismatch that

we have today.

2. The lack of strong foundation in problem-solving, communication, critical thinking, proactive

and practicalthese are often called the soft skills - in ICT graduates can be attributed to 2

factors. One is the result of Malaysias education system that emphasized too much on

exams and rote-learning. The second factor, which is not widely known to the public, is the

11 Source: MDeC / Frost & Sullivan, 2009


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reduction from 4 years to 3 years of many ICT degree programs. Related to this is the

absence of or reduction in credit hours for a practical stint in the industry for many of these

degree programs. While the Government is embarking to revamp our education system to

suit the workforce requirements of this 21st

century, the IHLs need to quickly change their

education strategy including how they measure successful outcome.

3. This problem of supply demand mismatch is further compounded by the very dynamic and

fast-paced nature of the ICT industry. This and the above 2 factors suggest that the ICT

curriculum in IHLs need to constantly keep pace with developments in the ICT industry.

Unfortunately, not many universities review their curricula frequently, as highlighted in the

following chart from the Malaysian ICT Human Capital Study carried out by MDeC and

Frost & Sullivan in 2009. The same study also indicates that there is little consultation or

collaboration between IHLs and industry for this curriculum review (see the second chart). It

is no surprise then that the majority of ICT graduates do not have the relevant competencies

needed by employers.

Figure 14: Frequency of ICT curriculum review by IHL's


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Figure 15: Stakeholder interaction for curriculum review

These root causes plus the factors that have been identified to contribute to the declining ICT

enrolment need to be addressed together in a holistic and coordinated manner as they have a cause

and effect relationship with each other. Resolving only 1 or 2 will not bring out the systemic change

required for Malaysias ICT education to deliver world class ICT professionals for the global market.


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5 What needs to be done?

As highlighted in the previous chapters, there are significant opportunities and demand in ICT, and

likewise there are significant challenges and gaps with regards to the quality and competency of ICT

human resources for Malaysia. The main contributing factors and root causes are known. In fact,

they have been known for many years, and several policy interventions and programs have been

initiated recently.

But now that Malaysia is accelerating its transformation effort towards Vision 2020 via the NEM

amid what will be an even more competitive environment for investment (both foreign and

domestics) and talent, there is therefore an urgent need to coordinate and harmonise these efforts,

and formulate and implement new strategies.

The National ICT Human Resource Taskforce has identified three strategic thrusts that form the

pillars of this ICT Human Capital Development framework. Within each strategic thrust, several

policy measures are recommended, although these are not yet exhaustive at this stage.

Strategic Thrust Recommended Policy

ST1:

Raise workforce competencies

Strengthen ICT curriculum with demand-driven approach

Strengthen ICT foundation in Malaysias education system

Expand enrolment in ICT

ST2:

Build greater R&D and

innovative capacity

Channel R&D and Commersialisation towards strategic focus

areas

Establish a boutique ICT university Increase tri-partite collaboration in Research, Development

and Commercialisation

ST3:

Institutionalise professional

recognition and standards

Form a national ICT professional body

Promote professional development of practitioners

Re-brand and promote ICT as career of choice

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?Chapter 5


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5.1 Raise workforce competency5.1.1 Strengthen ICT curriculum with demand-driven approach

To raise the competencies of ICT workforce, among the key measures to be taken is to strengthenthe ICT curriculums in schools and IHLs by incorporating frequent input from the industry. The recent

proposals by MADICT (Majlis Dekan ICT) and MQA to streamline the various ICT-related degree

programs into a clear grouping of focus areas and to set and enforce certain quality standards need

to be implemented and monitored regularly.

The proposal by MADICT suggests that the body of knowledge as recommended by the Association

of Computing Machinery (ACM) be incorporated into university courses. ACM is the worlds oldest

and largest educational and scientific computing society with 78,000 members and headquartered in

New York.

MADICT also recommends that a clear distinction be made between the Bachelor of Computer

Science and Bachelor of Information Technology. Due to its importance, the area of software

engineering also deserves its own discipline and should be offered as a Bachelor of Software

Engineering.

Another recommendation is to enhance ICT competency according to the standardization based on

global best practices and national demands. Focus areas based on the ACM computing curricula

2001-2005 as pointed out by MADICT are:

Software Engineering

Computer Systems and Networks

Artificial Intelligence

Multimedia

Information Systems

For long term development, post graduate studies and specialization will be promoted primarily in

strategic focus areas identified in the national ICT R&D framework (see Figure 17). These focus areas

include but are not limited to:

software development

software engineering

digital content development


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information security

High Performance Computing

Multi-modal information processing

Embedded System

Knowledge management

A scheme is also proposed for these postgraduates to implement the followings:

Facilitate research groups or centres in the universities to enable good

graduates to join the universities,

Planning for good graduates to pursue Masters and obtain certifications.

It is also recommended that lecturers be exposed to industrial practices and experiences, and there

should be a structured programme for lecturers to be attached to industry. It is suggested that the

minimum period of attachment be set at six months and sufficient credit or merit be given to

participating lecturers in consideration for promotion in order to encourage participation.

Review of ICT curriculums should be done ideally every year or at least every 2 years. The review

must also be done in consultation with industry, either directly or indirectly, through organizationssuch as MDeC, MNCC, and PIKOM.

In addition to the above longer-term programs, IHLs and industry stakeholders must also collaborate

often to formulate and run programs to address short and medium term industry needs. A good case

in point is the establishment of the Knowledge Worker Development Institute (KDI) by MDeC to

provide knowledge workers with the skills required by the ICT Industry, especially in Shared Services

and Outsourcing (SSO) sector.

A final and important point to stress is that in all the above efforts to strengthen ICT curriculum with

the demand-driven approach, the reference to industry should not only be to local and current

needs, but also to global and future demands, especially the more developed ones.


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5.1.2 Strengthen ICT foundation in education systemThe introduction of basic ICT foundation in secondary schools needs to be further promoted. While

there are many public schools that have adopted the Smart School model and many more have

computer labs and programs, these efforts need to be expanded throughout the entire school

education system. Basic computing courses should be introduced in schools and teachers need to be

skilled at exciting interest amongst students in the field of computing as well as equip them with the

skills for life-long learning.

In the USA, K12 curriculum, the largest provider of online education was introduced to target online

learning for grades K through to 12. The curriculum includes instruction, practice exercises, and

assessments, as well as audio/video tutorials and links to interactive activities to make learning more

motivating and engaging.

Figure 16 : Structure of K-12 Computer Science Curriculum12

The structure of the K-12 Computer Science Curriculum, for example, shows that the preparation for

Computer Science knowledge starts from the beginning with the basic introduction of Computer

Science foundations and analysis & design.

The inclusion of ICT as a foundation subject at the secondary school level will equip Malaysian

students entering universities or other IHLs with the necessary knowledge and skills in problem-

solving, systems analysis and computer logic/programming. These skills will enable them to learn

other advanced ICT-related subjects within the 3- or 4-year programs. These foundation skills are

also useful even if the students do not pursue ICT courses in their tertiary education. This policy will

go a long way to widening our pool of ICT human resources.

12Source: Final Report of the ACM K-12 Task Force Curriculum Committee


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5.1.3 Expand enrolment in ICTWith the ICT curriculum strengthened through regular review and adherence to quality and

standards established by MQA, all public and private IHLs should expand their enrolment of ICT. (As

of writing, many IHLs intend to increase their enrolment in the next few years). However, it must be

stressed that this expansion should only happen if proper planning and analysis are done in

consultation with industry and relevant stakeholders so that it is demand-driven. Also, there must be

adequate capacity in terms of the number of qualified lecturers, staff, and facilities to accommodate

more student intake without sacrificing the quality of education.

For this strategy to be effective, it is also recommended that every IHL offering ICT programs has a

certain focus or specialisation. These focused areas of the IHL could either be a research focus, or

software engineering, or Information systems relevant to business or others. Subsequently, IHLs

need to carry out a consistent branding and promotion program to cast a wider net and get more of

the top performing students to enrol in ICT. This branding should be done on a more specific basis to

complement the branding and promotion of ICT as a career of choice at the national level to be done

by the Ministry or agency concerned e.g. MOHE working with MDeC.

5.2 Build greater R&D and innovative capacity5.2.1 Channel R&D and commercialisation to strategic focus areasMalaysia currently is predominantly a consumer of ICT and technology products, and this must

change if we are to become a high-income nation that produces a lot more intellectual property in

ICT. Educational institutions must be encouraged to inculcate a culture of research in students while

the private sector must be continually encouraged and incentivised to invest in research and

development of their own intellectual property that can be marketed globally.

For Malaysia to increase its capability in R&D and Commercialisation, there is a need to identify

niche areas of technology where Malaysia has the strong potential to excel. These niche areas have

been identified in the proposed National ICT R&D Framework that was deliberated on during the

stakeholders workshop in May 2010, and more recently during consultation with MIMOS and

MOSTI. This generic ICT R&D framework is an extension of planning done via the National


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Information Technology Council (NITC) in the past as well as the National Strategic ICT Roadmap

developed by MOSTI in 2007. The generic ICT R&D framework has taken a comprehensive and

holistic view of current development while duly taking into consideration Malaysias resources and

strengths. Figures 17 , 18 and 19 depict this generic ICT R&D Framework that emphasizes the

grouping of the R&D and Commercialisation activities into strategic focus areas.

R&D and commercialisation efforts especially in the public IHLs and research institutions must be

channelled to the focus areas indentified in this ICT R&D framework so as to optimise our countrys

resources while aiming for significant impact. The areas ofgreatest impact will now go beyond areas

mentioned in the previous roadmaps such as smart agriculture, logistic systems, financial services,

halal and manufacturing sectors. It will need to consider the protection of our sovereignty in the

light of emerging global developments, e.g. the unbridled data control of data mining giants, i.e.

large search engines. There is also an impending need to catalyse the development of home-grown

platforms, systems and contents. The ability to have control over technology is hereby seen as

mandatory to steer the direction of the nation to become a high-income producer nation.

Other areas of greatest impact will also include sovereignty protection areas such as crime and

catastrophe prevention, cyber security, local indigenous systems, local content such as preservation

of culture and heritage, home-grown architecture platform, open source systems development and

embedded systems crafting and related application development.

To create a robust and sustainable ICT sector, the country needs a complete ecosystem, which

would translate into actionable programs in the areas of education, R&D and commercialisation,

infrastructure and industry development. The proposed generic computing roadmap presents an

overview of areas for the nation to capitalise on while also fully taking advantage of the R&D

capacity of current research institutions. It is only appropriate that Malaysia takes on the challenge

of harnessing and building upon the capacities and expertise that are already available in the

country. Considerable amount of expertise is available in network technologies (leading to grid and

cloud computing), security system (leading to cyber security) and in multimodal data analysis and

processing, artificial intelligence (leading to Discovery Informatics and Semantic Computing) among

many other areas.


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KnowledgeManagement

OrganizationIdentificationCreation Acquisition Dissemination Adaptation ApplicationOrganizationIdentificationCreation Acquisition Dissemination Adaptation Application

Knowledge/ Ontology

MultimediaRaw Data

MultimediaKnowledge

Representation

Knowledge Base Frameworks

Meaning (e.g. Discourse,

Lexicontology analysis)

Features (e.g. Phrasal &

Dependency analysis)

Generic AIProcessors

Database/XMLMultimediaKnowledge

Extraction/Generation

Text Speech ImageMusicAudio BiosignalGraphics/Animation

Data/Text

Mining

Clustering/

Classification

Multimedia Data

Indexing

Focused Information

Retrieval Search

Pattern

Identification

Biometrics

Distributed computing Parallel computing Grid computing

HighPerformance

ComputingMultimedia computing

UniversalMultimedia Filter

DataCompression

MultimediaCommunication

Data SecurityMultimedia Network

protocolSignal processing

Robotic NavigationVideo/Stereo Vision Informatics Surveillance

Prediction Scheduling Optimization

CreativeMultimedia

OrganizationIdentificationCreation Acquisition Dissemination Adaptation ApplicationMediumContent User

Generic National ICT R&D Framework

EnvironmentDomainspecific

Applications HealthcareLanguage

Finance LawRoboticsSmart office

Smart Home Smart Meeting Room

Computer Aided Translation

3D Games

Culture & Heritage Education

3D Film/Movie

Multilingual

Translation

Question

Answering

Multimodal

Visualizer

Figure 17 : Generic ICT R&D Framework

13

The framework proposed addresses the nurturing of a competent professional workforce necessary

to be a producer nation in cutting edge ICT technologies. Underlying the goal statement is the

aspiration to provide a proper environment to boost the countrys economic activities within the

knowledge economy, which will contribute to national wealth creation from ICT competitiveness.

One aspect would be by way of the development infrastructures/utilities, in particular via

accessibility to multimedia services under different and varying network conditions, high

performance computing platforms, in a secure mode, using a diverse range of terminal equipment

capabilities, serve dissimilar user needs, preferences and usage environment conditions. Another

aspect would be by way of provision of info-structures, in particular via tools, technologies and

methodologies to support knowledge management (ranging from acquisition, through organisation

to application) as well as develop creative content with core competency in providing various media

13Source: ICT Technology & R&D framework (MOSTI)


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1. The need for powerful computational resources aligned with the ability to manage

knowledge

2. Home-grown platforms for the construction of a wide-range of potential application

3.

A complete ecosystem of component systems and core technologies that make up the ICT

technological competence layers

4. A comprehensive coverage of cross-section of technologies that covers infrastructure to

applications.

5. R&D and commercialisation for these niche areas, which will in future lead to niche teaching

learning products such as the development of technology toolkits.

Figure 19 : National ICT R&D framework encompasses many strategic focus areas

Finally, the ICT R&D framework is aided by a set of specific, easily recognizable signposts to indicate

significant events that will influence the possibility for an envisioned future occurrence. These

actionable signposts are important stepping-stones in enhancing the likelihood of raising the

countrys regional presence and global competitiveness in key economic sectors.


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The signposts are:

Establish a human resource directory of skills and competencies in line with the roadmap

Building national competence in key areas identified in the roadmap for the realization of

the goals mentioned above.

Streamline funding agencies to ensure that gaps in competencies are addressed.

5.2.2 Establish a Boutique ICT UniversityThe proposal is to establish a specialised university for the next generation of ICT professionals and

knowledge workers necessary to support the nations aspiration to be a producer nation in ICT,

particularly in software technologies and applications. The universitys core businesses will be

research, development and commercialisation (R&D&C), and the offering of academic programmes

(foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate) in computer sciences, in particular in its core

competencies:

Artificial Intelligence (esp. in knowledge management technology),

Software Engineering (esp. for knowledge-based and intelligent systems),

Computer Systems (esp. in high performance computing),

These will be applied in certain niche domains, such as:

Business Analytics (esp. for business, finance, knowledge management),

Creative Multimedia (esp. in animation and multimedia performing arts)

Health Informatics (esp. in wellness and sports sciences)

Legal Informatics (esp. for intellectual property and international law)

The university will produce graduates at all levels to be computing professi

ICT Human Capital Framework

Documents

Transcript of ICT Human Capital Framework