FEW would disagree that talent is critical in nation-building. Countries which attract and retain the best talent prosper more. Lately, much public discussion has touched on the country’s talent dilemma.
A recent World Bank report paints a poor picture. The article questioned the efficacy of our education system in a world economy fast embracing science, technology, and innovation (STI). The state of our STI talent development is not keeping pace with global economic reality. Student interest in science continues to show a decline. As businesses embark on digitalizing their operations, there is a concern about a dearth of talent locally.
Critical talent leaving the country is another worrying trend. This has not slowed down. Not to mention the growing disinterest among high school students to pursue higher education, especially in the STEM disciplines. It is not that the government has not taken notice. Going by the many blueprints launched, matters of talent have always been flagged as a priority. Talent support has always been at the forefront of such plans as evidenced in the 12th Malaysia Plan, NIMP, NETR, and more.[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”block” ihc_mb_who=”unreg” ihc_mb_template=”3″ ]
This is because no blueprints can be effectively executed without the necessary talent support. Only recently, the government launched an ambitious National Human Resource Development Plan, NHRD. But already we hear murmurs about the challenges ahead to execute such a plan. The top concern is the whole of government’s support. Despite various pronouncements for ministries to work together, little progress has been made to stamp out the silo-working mentality. The “not in my turf” attitude is still common among many government entities. Collaboration is not in everyone’s vocabulary. A recent announcement by MOHE to work with MITI to address the country’s talent challenges is a positive signal.
Experts agree that if we do not address the many challenges in our talent agenda, we will struggle to deliver all our economic plans. Talent recruitment and retention continue to trouble the economy. Low salary is not the only reason. Many cite poor career opportunities in STEM as a prime demotivator. Many STEM graduates end up working in our closest neighbour Singapore. Most chose to work there because of the attractive work environment. Not to mention the more robust STEM ecosystem there. We have not achieved the right formula.
The Middle East countries also attract many of our trained talents. Such a rising brain drain of our talent is not good for the country. We pay for much of their training. It is not a small investment, as shown by the high budget allocation given to education. But we are not able to harness them. We need to get to the root cause to stop such brain drain. The brain drain and the declining interest in pursuing higher education should not be taken lightly. If such phenomena are allowed to continue, the repercussions on the economy can be disastrous.
The relevant ministries must come together and work with the business and industry community to introduce new measures to arrest the decline. In the case of STEM, the critical sector is R&D. Despite all the pronouncements of increasing R&D funding from the current 1% GDP to 2.5%, the progress has been dismal. Many of our R&D laboratories in the universities and the research institutes are ill-equipped. We should move away from the culture of overemphasising the physical building infrastructure. We should instead allocate more for R&D talent welfare and the funding of the research itself, including having the right facilities.
As the current higher education blueprint is ending in 2025, stakeholder engagement should start now for the succeeding blueprint. It should not wait after the new plan is finalised. The engagement should incorporate the analysis of the previous blueprint. What has been the achievement? Where did we fail to deliver? And why? What are the new challenges as the world embraces new economic parameters including sustainability and ESG? The PEMANDU style of organizing idea laboratories is worth adopting. Many are hoping for a change in the way we develop blueprints. When we speak about reform, education reform is paramount as we struggle to be a magnet for good talent.
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