Teraju to pitch ‘national skill passport’ for budget consideration

On 5th October 2023, the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) presented the MYSkill ID, a proposed "national skill passport" platform, to the finance ministry's budgeting team during the GenBajet2027 student policymaking competition. The platform, designed by Ahmad Huzairy Zaharuddin of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), aims to track, verify, and record an individual's lifelong skills, training certifications, and practical project accomplishments.

Similar to centralised platforms like MyDigital ID, MYSkill ID would aggregate educational and upskilling data across various training bodies, including technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

Huzairy stressed that MYSkill ID would identify the skills the country needs and allow industry players to access the talent and training frameworks made available by the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) to the nation. This would enable the analysis of existing talent pools to plan for the skills the country requires.

Nik Nazree Nik Abdul Rahman, senior director of Teraju's strategic services division, expressed hope that the finance ministry would consider the MYSkill ID proposal within the 2027 budget. He also hoped to secure a sufficient portion of the budget allocations for the development of Bumiputera enterprises in high-impact industries, including the energy transition sector. Thus far, 67% success has been achieved in implementing the Bumiputera Economic Transformation Plan 2035 (Putera35) since its introduction in 2024.

Nik Nazree hoped the budget would provide Teraju with the necessary funding to ensure the successful implementation of initiatives, including MYSkill ID, to effectively achieve the goals of the Putera35 plan, ultimately aiming to make Malaysia a regional economic leader.