The construction and manufacturing industries in Malaysia can expect fast growth in the coming years, leading to greater job and career opportunities.
WOU’s School of Science & Technology (SST) Deputy Dean, Assoc Prof Ts Dr Sean Tan, shared that construction in Malaysia declined in 2020, but is expected to grow in 2021 and 2022. “The forecast growth is 11.2% in 2021 and 7.1% in 2022, and an average growth rate of 6.2% from 2023 to 2025,” he said at an online talk on how to become professional managers in construction and manufacturing. Some 50 people joined the talk organised by SST and the Kuching Regional Centre on 31 October 2021.
He pointed out that the 2022 Budget has significant allocations to create more jobs and positively impact the construction and manufacturing industries. “In December 2020, the government approved in its 2021 Budget, RM322.5 billion worth of projects. In the 2022 budget, there will be a continuation of implementation of national infrastructure development projects worth RM3.5 billion.”
He continued, “For manufacturing, there was a 29.8% growth in May 2021 compared to the corresponding month in 2020. In 2022, an average growth rate of 6.9% is expected.”
Dr Tan said the JaminKerja initiative under the 2022 Budget aims to create 600,000 job opportunities next year, involving an allocation of RM4.8 billion, while there is an RM80million allocation under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) for skills training.
He mentioned the Critical Occupations List 2019/2020 of the Ministry of Human Resources released this year, which ranked manufacturing and construction in No. 9th and 10th respectively. “The construction and the manufacturing industries in Malaysia will expect a steady growth in the coming years and we expect more exciting job opportunities for them,” he remarked.
He highlighted that WOU’s bachelor and MBA degrees in construction management (BTCM & MBACM) and its MBA in manufacturing & production management (MBAMPM) will equip graduates with technical knowledge and the required skills to manage projects.
SST Lecturer Dr Nurul ‘Ulyani Mohd Najib said that workers in such fields as civil engineering, architecture, quantity survey, project management, real estate development/management, safety and health, offshore, and telecommunications can benefit from the BTCM or MBACM degree, enabling them “to apply for professional qualification”.
Among the professional qualifications open to WOU graduates are: Construction Industry Development Board (Certified Construction Manager); Malaysia Board of Technology (Professional Technologist/Professional Technician); Royal Institute of Surveyor Malaysia( Professional Quantity, Property, or Building Surveyor); Project Management Institute (Certified Project Manager); The Chartered Institute of Building (Chartered Construction Manager; and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyor (Chartered Surveyor).
Meanwhile SST Deputy Dean (Industry & Outreach), Dr Teoh Ping Chow, said that the MBAMPM students have the opportunity to network with peers from industry. A random alumni profile survey found them to hold management-level positions like operations engineer/manager, QA manager, factory manager, operations engineer and product engineer.
He emphasised that the MBA credential affords them recognition especially when they are dealing with government agencies, authorities and customers.
During Q&A, Dr Tan said the next progression at WOU after MBACM or MBAMPM is the Doctor of Business Administration degree.