EV boom, solar energy trend fuel hunt for Malaysian engineering talent
THE auto industry push for hybrid and electric vehicles (EV) is expected to drive demand for skilled engineers in the Malaysian job market, one recruitment firm has observed.
Hays Malaysia noted in a recent report on engineering recruitment: “With Malaysia establishing itself as a leader in the EV sub-sector, with its strong manufacturing background, companies are willing to invest and establish factories related to EV and solar energy.”
The trend extends to manufacturers’ factory investments in related products such as LED lights, according to Tom Osborne, managing director at Hays Malaysia. “This is a huge opportunity for Malaysia, so we are expecting more recruitment in the area.”
“There have been a lot of engagements between the government and the original equipment manufacturers,” said Madani Sahari, chief executive of the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics, and IoT Institute. “They want to bring more investments into Malaysia in EV technology, but they require measures that are more robust and specific to EV.”
That’s even as the linchpin oil and gas sector has started to diversify into renewable energy, which Mr Osborne said is “creating a broad array of employment possibilities”.
Meanwhile, tech professionals with niche skills will command stronger remuneration on the job market, as Malaysia faces a talent crunch amid an ambitious national plan to raise gross domestic spending on research and development (R&D) to 3.5 per cent by 2030.
“As Malaysia has historically been a manufacturing and engineering hub, this new R&D talent pool is markedly shallow,” Mr Osborne noted.
Overall, the firm sees “overwhelming demand for candidates with regional South-east Asia experience” – especially domestic talent who have returned to Malaysia – and for mid-level engineering staff with Mandarin proficiency to address the Chinese market.
Said Mr Osborne: “Malaysia’s engineering sector has taken the opportunity of crisis to re-evaluate the way it manoeuvres, and in the year ahead we foresee a shift in objectives that spells an injection of recruitment in new and exciting areas.”
Source: businesstimes
