TalentCorp Strengthens Sarawak’s Future Workforce with RM1 Million Matching Grant

KUCHING, 24 SEPTEMBER 2025 – The World Economic Forum warns that by 2030, 85 million jobs worldwide could go unfilled due to skills shortages. Determined to stay ahead of this global challenge, Sarawak has set bold targets under its Post COVID-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030, to build a pipeline of 500,000 skilled workers and produce 30,000 talents annually to secure its future workforce.

Photo 1: (Form left) Puan Anielia anak Siam, Deputy Permanent Secretary for MEITD, YB Dato’ Sri Roland Sagah, Minister of MEITD Sarawak and Mr Thomas Mathew, TalentCorp Group Chief Executive Officer together with Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025 participants.

To support this vision, Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp) is allocating RM1 million in matching grants through the Insentif Latihan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana (LiKES), under the ILHAM KESUMA initiative, aimed at strengthening Sarawak’s SMEs by enabling them to train and nurture future-ready talent. 

The initiative is expected to generate 700 internship placements across 400 SME companies in all sectors, offering young Sarawakians meaningful industry exposure and boosting their employability. By empowering SMEs to take in and train young talent, Sarawak is strengthening its talent pipeline while ensuring its workforce is aligned with the state’s growth sectors.

In pursuit of this goal, TalentCorp and the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) Sarawak in collaboration with Sarawak Skills and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (PETROS) convened Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025, a half-day engagement programme bringing together employers, government agencies, academia, and industry leaders. The agenda featured a fireside chat on “Sarawak Talent 2030: Shaping the Next Generation Workforce”, alongside targeted presentations on AI, digital and green skills, workforce transformation, and TalentCorp’s MyMahir and MyCOL initiatives. 

Employers were also invited to contribute their insights through surveys and discussions, ensuring that Sarawak’s workforce strategies are co-created with industry. By aligning workforce planning with project timelines and investment flows, this collaborative effort will help Sarawak achieve its 2030 targets and position itself as a future-ready talent hub.

Photo 2: YB Dato’ Sri Roland Sagah, Minister of MEITD Sarawak delivering his keynote remarks during Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025

Minister of MEITD Sarawak, Dato’ Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn, emphasised that the partnership between TalentCorp and MEITD reflects a shared commitment to enhancing talent development and strengthening industry-academia collaboration.

“The coming decade presents a golden opportunity for Sarawak to set new regional benchmarks, whether in renewable energy, AI-ready data centres, inclusive mobility for our people, or high-value global supply chains,” he said, during his officiation remarks.

Photo 3: Thomas Mathew, Group Chief Executive Officer of TalentCorp delivering his welcoming remarks during Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025.

TalentCorp Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Thomas Mathew, further emphasised that as the strategic think tank of KESUMA, TalentCorp’s role is to help Malaysia navigate workforce disruption with foresight and precision.

“That means turning data into strategy, and strategy into action. For instance, our Critical Occupations List (MYCOL) 2024/2025 shows that Sarawak faces pressing shortages in skilled trades, engineering, ICT, healthcare, and education. This data guides our initiatives like MyMahir and MyNext, where we connect education outcomes with industry demand to ensure Sarawakians are prepared for jobs in clean energy, semiconductors, and green data centres,” he said. 

“Nationally, with Malaysia climbing eight places to 25th in the IMD World Talent Ranking—the best in five years—it is clear that our long-term efforts are paying off. But it also sets a higher bar, which is why TalentCorp’s mandate is to translate insights into practical programmes that future-proof our workforce and keep Malaysia competitive on the global stage,” he added. 

Industry Connect @ Sarawak 2025, held at the Hilton Kuching with more than 200 participants including SMEs, employers, government agencies, and academia, focused on closing skills gaps by aligning education, training, and hiring with industry needs—empowering Sarawakians to seize high-value opportunities in clean energy, semiconductors, and green data centres. The programme brought together key sectors such as manufacturing, construction, oil & gas/energy, ICT and the digital economy, healthcare, education and training, agriculture and forestry, logistics and transport, as well as tourism and hospitality.

This programme will introduce the participants to Talentcorp’s key initiatives, including MyMahir, ILHAM KESUMA, the Malaysia Critical Occupations List (MyCOL), and Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA). The strategic partnership with MEITD will further drive Sarawak’s economic growth while cultivating a future-ready talent pool and a highly skilled workforce.

Issued by Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad (TalentCorp)