Latest news with #WorldCompetitivenessRankings
New Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Talent Will Determine Malaysia's High-Tech Ascent
Malaysia is entering a critical phase in its economic trajectory. The government's National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), complementing the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 anchored by Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI), signals a shift toward deep technology, advanced manufacturing, and innovation-led growth. Malaysia's efforts are already bearing fruit. Apart from record breaking investments in the past year driven by surge in technology and manufacturing sector, our improvement in the World Competitiveness Rankings by 11 spots, from 34 to 23, in the annual ranking published by Institute of Management Development reflects this shift. At the core of this transformation lies the semiconductor industry—a sector that is not only economically strategic but also geopolitically consequential. Malaysia contributes around 13% of global back-end assembly, test, and packaging (ATP). But long-term competitiveness cannot be built on volume alone. Upstream capabilities in chip design, wafer fabrication, and IP creation are now prerequisites for value capture. During the NSS launch, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim set a bold ambition: attract RM500 billion in semiconductor investment by 2030 and train 60,000 high-skilled engineers. NIMP 2030 reinforces this with a broader aim to boost high-tech manufacturing, double median wages to RM4,500, and position Malaysia as a regional tech hub. These plans are well-timed and well-articulated—but they face a critical constraint: human capital. The Talent Bottleneck: Malaysia's Biggest Risk Factor Malaysia has no shortage of university graduates, yet employers continue to report shortages in areas most relevant to frontier tech industries. This talent gap is a major barrier to entry into upstream semiconductor activities, where global competition is fiercest. The problem is not unique to Malaysia. Globally, the semiconductor sector faces a forecasted shortfall of over 1 million skilled workers by 2030, according to reports by research houses. However, countries are responding with decisive and focused interventions. Local Models: K‑Youth and Industry-Led Programmes Malaysia has already begun investing in new workforce development models. One example is government-linked Khazanah Nasional's K‑Youth Development Programme. Having trained over 8,000 participants with an 83% placement rate, the programme combines technical training, soft skills, and paid industry placements, co-designed with employers. RM200 million has been committed to train 11,000 more in 2025. Additionally, 42 Malaysia (42MY)—a free, peer-to-peer coding school established by Khazanah—focuses on digital and programming skills that are increasingly relevant in chip design, embedded systems, and AI-enhanced manufacturing. Apart from GLCs, multinationals are also stepping up. For example, Infineon Technologies, which is investing RM25 billion in Melaka, has partnered with local polytechnics to build a semiconductor talent pipeline with skills-based training. Intel Malaysia's latest RM30 billion expansion in Penang includes a commitment to upskilling over 4,000 local engineers. Internationally, Malaysia can draw useful lessons from peer economies. TSMC's Semiconductor Academy aligns curriculum across universities with the direct needs of chip fabrication and design. Meanwhile, India's Semiconductor Mission is setting up chip design and packaging skill hubs through its IIT system and private sector partners like Vedanta-Foxconn. Without a comprehensive approach to workforce development—backed by industry, GLCs, and academia—Malaysia risks missing the window. Linking Talent to Capital and Capability Beyond training, Malaysia's long-term semiconductor success requires simultaneous investment in ecosystem resilience and industrial capability. And again, capacity building initiatives such as this requires push from government-linked companies with national interest mandate. Through catalytic capital deployment under programs like Dana Impak, also introduced by Khazanah to transform firms and cultivate innovation, Malaysia seeks to unlock high-value segments in the global semiconductor chain. These efforts aim to deepen local value-creation and future-proof Malaysia's position in global supply chains. By aligning talent strategies, capital investment and vendor development, Malaysia is leveraging a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a resilient, innovation-led economy that celebrates the ethos of establishing a nation that creates. Policy Implications and Execution Priorities To convert plans into capabilities, three actions are critical. First is deepening Industry–Talent Integration. Scale up models like K‑Youth and university-industry consortia to target advanced semiconductor roles. Second, is to accelerate R&D–Training Hubs. Fast-track the IC Design Park in Selangor and the Kerian Integrated Circuit Hub in Perak—while ensuring they include training centres in their architecture. Third, and most critical, is to strengthen governance and coordination across stakeholders. A Semiconductor Talent Council—housed within MITI or in collaboration with agencies like HRD Corp—should track skills supply and demand, fund upskilling programmes, and ensure inter-agency alignment across MOHE, MOF, GLICs like Khazanah, EPF, KWAP and other private sector investors in a whole of nation approach. Competing on Talent, Not Tax Incentives Malaysia cannot out-subsidise or out-infrastructure global competitors. But it can out-execute in talent development—if the effort is strategic, coordinated, and industry-driven. Khazanah's K‑Youth, Infineon's polytechnic partnerships, and Intel's upskilling initiative provide promising blueprints. The challenge is to scale fast and deepen specialisation, aligning with NSS goals. Semiconductors are not just a high-value export; they are the gateway to an entire future economy. Malaysia's competitiveness—like its sovereignty—will increasingly depend on its ability to create and retain deep tech talent. GLCs must continue to act as enablers of Malaysia's new economy, giving opportunities to skill local talents who will be the drivers that will lift the ceiling and achieve the lofty ambitions set by the Madani Economic Framework. More GLCs should redirect their effort in cultivating technology sectors and move us up the value chain as nations that innovate and create, securing our economic future. We must act faster. In short: Malaysia as a whole must invest in people as aggressively as we invest in plants. That will determine whether we are merely part of the global semiconductor conversation—or helping to lead it.
Irish Examiner
11 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Ireland falls to seventh place in competitiveness rankings
Ireland has fallen to seventh place in the latest World Competitiveness Rankings, as the country suffered a significant fall in efficiency of doing business. According to the latest rankings from the International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) World Competitiveness Centre, which has been ranking the competitiveness of countries for 37 years, Ireland fell three places from fourth in 2024. Ireland stood at second in the rankings in 2023. The IMD rankings assess 69 economies around the world based on their competitive business environment. It is based on hundreds of indicators across four areas such as economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. Switzerland took the top spot this year, followed by Singapore in second place, and Hong Kong in third. Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan were also ahead of Ireland. Ireland was the highest ranking member of the eurozone on the list. Sweden, Qatar, and the Netherlands rounded out the top 10 places on the list. The US stood in 13th place in this year's rankings, while China fell to 16th. Germany rose five places to 19th, the UK was in 29th place, and Spain was in 39th place. Nigeria, Namibia, and Venezuela were all at the bottom of this year's rankings. In terms of the metrics, Ireland was on par in almost every category compared to 2024, however, there was a significant fall-off recorded in the business efficiency category. In 2023 and 2024, Ireland ranked third in the world in this area but in 2025 it has fallen to 11th. The country still ranks highly in government efficiency, in fifth place. It placed ninth in economic performance, despite ranking 33rd for the domestic economy and 46th for prices. While it ranked 17th in infrastructure, this was the same ranking the country had in 2024. According to IMD, the final score for each economy is computed by using the perceptions of executives, together with statistical data. The hard data represent a weight of two-thirds in the overall rankings. This year, the hard data was computed to form 170 criteria. Read More Irish exports fell 43% in April compared to March as tariffs hit trade
