THE creation of a future-ready highly skilled talent for Malaysian rail sector is the focus of a strategic cooperation agreement between HARTASUMA Sdn Bhd (HARTASUMA) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).
Deputy Minister of Transport, Dato’ Kamarudin Jaafar said in his officiating speech at HARTASUMA UniKL Graduates Employability Training Scheme (GETS) closing ceremony said highly skilled talents are needed to support sustainability and drive growth in the railway industry as new technology and operational needs arise.
GETS is a 3-month programme initiated by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) in developing young talents to become highly skilled in delivering practical experience of applying engineering technology to railway related issues. Kamarudin emphasised the need to create a sustainable local rail industry as the demand for job opportunities in the railway industry is expected to increase to 40 per cent of workforces in the next 10 years.
“Malaysia’s rail sector has surged forward in every aspect in recent years. I believe that by nurturing more top-quality talents for Malaysia will drive productivity and improve competitiveness and ultimately raising rail industry performance globally.” HARTASUMA’s Managing Director, Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Halim said: “The rail industry is moving fast and will continue to gain speed and the skill gap in rail talent will continue to get wider.”
“The railway industry must be fully aware of the skills gap it faces and must act now to start bridging the gap,” added Abdul Rahman. He further added that HARTASUMA is committed to bringing its talented workforce in the journey towards the railway of the future. “From the start, HARTASUMA has had a longstanding commitment to the development of its people.
“We want our talents to maximise their development opportunities so that they can unleash their full potential, and we need all our people to be future-ready.” Bombardier Hartasuma Consortium is slated to deliver an additional 27 trainsets of Innovia Metro 300 train which will ply the Kelana Jaya LRT Line next year.
All the 20 GETS graduates will contribute in the final assembly and interior fit-out for the trains, and also in other future projects. Upon completion of delivery, the four-car trains are expected to enhance high-capacity mobility on Kuala Lumpur’s integrated transit network. The partnership will also allow UniKL railway students to undergo their industrial training at HARTASUMA.
“We are motivated with the growth in this industry and see this as our responsibility to produce highly skilled and knowledgeable students for the industry. “We are excited to set up this platform for students to keep in touch with the latest technology in the industry,” said Abdul Rahman.
