KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (NNN-Bernama) — Google has launched a new digital training programme, known as “Gemilang”, to help Malaysians develop digital skills and gain access to high-demand jobs.
Google Malaysia managing director Marc Woo said under the programme, 31,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships will be offered through local partners including education institutions, industry partners and non-profits to earn a certificate at no cost.
Google has also formed an employer consortium to connect job seekers from the Gemilang programme with prospective employers who recognise the qualifications.
“The Google Career Certificate initiative is available to all Malaysians to gain tech skills across six areas: data analytics, IT support, IT automation, project management, UX Design, and digital marketing/e-commerce,” Woo said at the launch of Gemilang here Thursday.
Google Cloud is partnering with a local private university, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, to offer the Google Cloud training curriculum to equip undergraduates with technical proficiency in cloud computing and prepare them for careers in data analytics, machine learning, and application development, among others.
“A report by AlphaBeta found that if leveraged fully, digital technologies could create up to US$257.2 billion (US$1=RM4.45) worth of economic value annually in Malaysia by 2030,” he said.
Woo also said that data by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation showed that Malaysia’s digital job vacancies almost tripled as of April last year.
“A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that 88 per cent of Malaysians surveyed are ready to learn new skills or completely retrain to remain employable in the future.
“The Social and Economic Research Initiative found that the most in-demand digital skills in the country include big data analytics, digital marketing, and artificial intelligence,” Woo noted.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed, in his speech, welcomed the launch of Gemilang and hoped more tools can be provided to help the small and medium enterprises move up their value chain.
He said that without talent, the shift to the digital age cannot take place successfully in any country.
“We acknowledge that some parts of Malaysia and the lesser developed states have been experiencing divergence in economic growth, so I fully endorse what you (Google) do to bring people together, reduce income inequalities and to get more equitable growth, that is impressive.
“We need to make sure that growth is shared by all Malaysian. So, we encourage whatever you can do to reduce the gaps,” he said.
— NNN-BERNAMA
