Penang aims to attract 150,000 talents in next five years to sustain growth

GEORGE TOWN - Penang aims to attract at least 150,000 talents in the next five years to sustain its economic and industrial growth, said special investment advisor to Penang Chief Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon.

Lee said that multi-pronged strategies need to be initiated urgently involving all stakeholders, such as industry players, institutions of higher learning and government agencies, to address the talent pool issue. "A tech-driven educational system beginning from the primary level has to be implemented immediately,” he said in a statement today.

Lee said that attracting international talent with certain skill sets such as software engineering and implementing more holistic policies for retaining engineering talents would be important to create a healthy and sustainable talent pipeline.

"To attract more knowledge workers to the state, Penang has undertaken a few initiatives such as the Penang Internship Subsidy Programme to entice knowledge workers from neighbouring states,” he said.

Moreover, he said that the state’s ability to provide a conducive work, live and play environment for outstation talents would be key to the success of this initiative.

Meanwhile, Lee said that Asia has emerged as the fastest-growing market for the medical technology (MedTech) industry, prompting tier-one players to establish manufacturing sites in the region. With a five-year compound annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent, the Asian market is estimated to reach US$147 billion (US$1=RM4.39) in 2027, he said.

He noted that Penang has the highest concentration of MedTech companies in Southeast Asia, and the state is proud to be home to six of the global top 30 medical device companies (by sales).

In line with the changing global business models, Lee said that the state also witnessed a surge in the number of research and development activities. "Similarly, we are seeing (more) design and development centres being set up in Penang to leverage local talents,” he added.

Lee said that Penang is well known for its electrical and electronics (E&E) sector both nationally and internationally, whereby about 38 per cent of Malaysia’s total exports are made up of E&E products and about 60 per cent of which are from the state. -Bernama