By NNN-Bernama
Balik Pulau, Malaysia : Malaysia can become the biggest outsourcing centre in South East Asia in the electronics and manufacturing sectors, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi says.
The target is achievable because the country has skilful manpower and expertise in the two sectors and the opportunities are there because companies, including in the automobile industry, are going for outsourcing as they do not want to shoulder the overall manufacturing costs, he adds.
“Our desire is to become the biggest outsourcing centre in South East Asia, with our manpower capable of handling various sophisticated machines,” he said Sunday when opening the Balik Pulau Mara High Skills College in this town in the northern state of Penang.
He advised students of skills studies centres in the country to equip themselves with various value-added assets apart from their paper qualifications.
Abdullah said eight more skills training centres would be built soon in the country to help meet the employment needs of the industrial sector.
“Skilful manpower is highly sought by foreign investors and we will produce more skilful manpower in the industrial sector, even more in numbers than engineers. We will develop highly qualified human capital in terms of skills, at the certificate, diploma and degree levels,” he said.