[This is a sponsored article with MDEC.]
COVID-19 has upended our ‘normal’ ways of living, changing how we spend our money and how we work. It has also affected Malaysia’s unemployment rate, which rose to 4.8% in 2020, compared to 3.3% in 2019.
As an active counter to this, MyDigitalWorkforce Work in Tech (MYWiT) aims to assist both parties in the workforce ecosystem. It will provide jobs and upskill unemployed Malaysians while supporting hiring employers through salary and training incentives.
The Goals Of MYWiT
Surina Shukri, the CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) believes the MYWiT initiative will spur companies to hire, upskill, and adequately compensate the Malaysian workforce while cushioning the impact of unemployment due to COVID-19.
Ultimately, the initiative will address the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital)’s goal of nurturing a strong digital economy by creating 500,000 jobs for Malaysians by 2025.
Under MYWiT, there are two separate programmes named Digital Business Services (DBS) and Digital Tech Apprenticeship (DTA). Both programmes have their own requirements and offerings.
Providing The Right Skills & Work Opportunities
Current labour requirements have taken a shift in favour of jobs that can be done remotely. If you’re a fresh graduate without the skills or the means to work remotely, you’re already starting off at a disadvantage.
The DBS programme addresses this by guiding fresh grads to gain digital knowledge and capabilities, while being employed in relevant fields. You can refer to this link for more info of job roles available under DBS.
Retrenched workers are also found to be lacking in digital capabilities in the modern workplace. DTA helps them by breathing new life into their current skillset and helping reskill themselves to get jobs under sectors such as Software Development, Data Science and Cyber Security.
Example: A software developer from the hospitality industry may be hired by a healthtech startup to develop medical software instead.
Requirements For Employees
If you’re interested in joining MYWiT either through DBS or DTA, here are some of the requirements:
- Unemployed for at least 2 months, or a fresh grad (DBS) OR unemployed or retrenched for at least two months (DTA),
- A Malaysian citizen,
- Not a current/past beneficiary of MYWiT incentives in any company,
- Not part of PenjanaKerjaya 2.0 and Penjana KPT-CAP programmes,
- Not a close family member of a director/shareholder/top management of a hiring company,
- Employment letter offer issued after the online qualifying application date.
Incentives For Prospective Employers
As for the employers who join up to MYWiT to look for potential talents, here are some of the incentives that will be reimbursed to you through the programme.
1. DBS Programme Incentive Structure
- RM9,800 to RM20,600 maximum incentive per person, depending on the salary offered (which will be reimbursed accordingly),
- Salary incentive of 40% of employee’s monthly salary for 6 months (salary range of RM2,000 to RM6,500),
- Up to RM5,000 for training per pax (in-house or through Work and Learn course on MDEC’s Digital Skills Training Directory).
2. DTA Programme Incentive Structure
- A maximum incentive of RM15,200 per pax (which will be reimbursed accordingly),
- RM1,200/month salary for 6 months (minimum salary of RM3,000 starting from 4th month onwards),
- Up to RM8,000 for training per pax (must be enrolled through Career Upgrade course on MDEC’s Digital Skills Training Directory).
There are two stages of the application process. Qualifying (Stage 1) and Approval (Stage 2). After the company submits the application for Stage 1, the company has two months to find the candidate for training. Once a candidate is selected, the company can then submit their application for Stage 2.
During Stage 1, companies can apply any time. However, for Stage 2, the table below indicates the closing dates, as the approval will be done in batches.
Do note that for both programmes, employers will need to offer a minimum of 12-month employment/contract for the job seekers. For more of the terms and conditions for employers, click here.
There are specific criteria for employers who wish to sign up to MYWiT as well.
- Incorporated in Malaysia,
- Minimum capital of RM20,000,
- Not subject to liquidation/winding-up order,
- Not a dormant company,
- Not a public-sector, federal, state statutory body or legal authority,
- No relations to a board director, shareholder or employee of MDEC.
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Thus far, initiatives introduced by MDEC in the digital jobs and skill segment have impacted the lives of two million Malaysians from 2016 to Q3 of 2020.
MDEC hopes that this initiative, in line with MyDigital’s goals, will spur on 300 companies to create more than 6,000 job opportunities and 1,000 new tech professionals in the industry.
- For more information on MYWiT, click here.
- Do note that the requirements or criteria are subject to change. Please refer to MDEC’s list for accurate information.
- Read up on what we’ve written about MDEC in the past here.
Featured Image Credit: Baim Hanif on Unsplash
