NCER - Education & Human Capital

Education & Human Capital

Situational Analysis: Current

The Education & Human Capital Development Plan for NCER is very much in line with the aspirations of the 9th Malaysia Plan to put additional emphasis on human capital development to ensure the sustainable success of the country. Students will need to learn, unlearn and relearn so as to be at par with the latest developments happening globally over the student’s lifetime – and everybody, regardless of age, is a student one way or the other.

Human capital development has proven to be a key ingredient in the overall socio-economic development of nations and is one of the key considerations for investors, other than local & regional demand, infrastructure, supporting industries, ease of doing business and business-friendly laws & governances, when selecting potential investment locations as shown in Figure 1. Based on a comparative study¹, NCER ranked as average when it comes to cost and availability of quality labour. Neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are also around the same level with NCER. In order to ensure that NCER will continue to become as a destination of choice for living and investing, the regional economy must be geared towards becoming more knowledge-based.

Figure 1: Key Consideration of Investors: A Comparative Study for NCER

The bulk of NCER’s population across all states is in the peak working age group of 15-64 (Figure 2) and most of the labour forces in NCER have at least secondary school qualifications. Nonetheless, as the region continues to position and differentiate itself to be knowledge-driven, there is naturally a need to increase the number of those who attained quality tertiary education.

Figure 2: NCER population breakdown by age group (years): 2006
Source: Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2006), State / District Databank (2006), BCG Analysis (2008)
Note: Whole of Perak included

Figure 3: Education levels for NCER labour force (15-64 years): 2005
Source: Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2006), State / District Databank (2006), BCG Analysis (2008)
Note: Whole of Perak included

The highest concentration of tertiary qualified employees can be found in Penang (Figure 3), mainly due to the state’s high concentration in manufacturing, business and trade activities. Most of NCER’s labour force is involved in the manufacturing, agriculture, fishing and hospitality sectors (Figure 4), and mostly are concentrated in lower-skills, ‘hands-on’ occupational groups (Figure 5).

Figure 1: Distribution of NCER labour force by industry sector: 2005
Source: Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2006), State / District Databank (2006), BCG Analysis (2008)
Note: Whole of Perak included

Figure 2: Distribution of NCER labour force by occupational group: 2005
Source: Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2006), State / District Databank (2006), BCG Analysis (2008)
Note: Whole of Perak included

Key Human Capital & Educational Issues in NCER: Our Observations

The region’s human capital development is seen lacking in many intangible areas such as low motivation, lack of exposure and weak career development. The summary of the issues are shown in Figure 7 below:

Figure 7: Key ‘Intangible-Type’ Challenges for NCER’s Human Capital & Education

Quantitative Observations: Human Capital Statistics

In terms of physical infrastructure, NCER has a commendable level of infrastructure as indicated in the chart below. There are approximately 1,206 primary schools, 367 secondary schools, 263 accredited skill centres², 10 community colleges³ and 91 institutes of higher learning⁴ throughout NCER. The challenges for NCER now is not so much of creating new facilities, but rather enhance existing ones, give additional focus on adding-value to the contents of educational programs and ensure a smooth transition of education institutions to the workplace.

Figure 8: Number of Education Institutions and Infrastructure in NCER
Source: Bulletin Data Statistic 2006, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education
Notes:
1. Includes government religious schools, state religious schools and private religious schools
2. Public Universities include UiTM branches

In terms of formal education, NCER schools have good student enrolment levels, with both primary and secondary government schools in the region having pupil-to-school ratios as good as or better than those in Peninsular Malaysia. However, with the exception of Penang, despite a good average student-teacher ratio (Figure 9) academic performance in the region is below that in Peninsular Malaysia (Figure 10). The rate of drop-outs and absenteeism are also a point of concern in NCER schools, particularly those in hinterland areas.

Figure 9: Student-Teacher Ratio of NCER Schools
Source: Ministry of Education; Social statistics bulletin, Malaysia, 2006; BCG analysis

Figure 10: Academic Performance in NCER Schools
1. Defined as “achieved all subjects” 2. Defined as “Combination of 1A to 8E” for all subjects
Source: Ministry of Education; Social statistics bulletin, Malaysia, 2006; BCG analysis

Figure 11: Detail of Schools, Students and Teachers in NCER
Source: Bulletin Data Statistic 2006 – Statistics Department

In skills training and lifelong learning, NCER has adequate library infrastructure (one library per 27,000 people versus one library per 36,000 people in Peninsular Malaysia). There are approximately 220 libraries located across the four NCER states. However, while around 14% of the NCER population have library memberships (versus 13% for Peninsular Malaysia), the region’s libraries have only three collections per member. It also appears that adults in NCER are less involved in self-directed learning than those in Peninsular Malaysia, with fewer working adults subscribing to newspapers, subscribing to Internet providers and visiting bookstores.

In employment and career development, NCER’s relatively older population has a lower than average workforce participation rate compared to the national average and relatively low formal education, particularly tertiary qualifications (with the exception of Penang in both instances). The labour force is concentrated in NCER’s core industries, but for the most part the work is lower skilled and manual.

Qualitative Observation: On-the-Ground/Grassroots

Qualitative, on-the-ground observations revealed issues that need to be addressed across the education and development spectrum. The view from pre-schools and primary schools is that pockets of students are poorly motivated, most likely as a result of their home environments, and have had little exposed to urban lifestyles. School infrastructure, while sufficient, must be maintained well to ensure maximum utility of usage.

Student motivation is also an issue in secondary schools, where a gender bias in relation to learning begins to emerge—with males showing more interest in practical courses. Career guidance is considerably underdeveloped, with counsellors tending to focus on students’ personal problems. In addition, more focus could be given towards developing ICT infrastructures in schools.

In pre-university, low student motivation is still a prevailing issue, with students having little exposure to industry and the urban environment. Career development programs are insufficient, so students find it difficult to get career advice or experience through internships or job placements. In addition, where opportunities exist for lifelong learning there is little take-up.

The student bodies in NCER’s public universities are more heavily skewed towards females, and are perceived to still face problems with mediums of instructions, particularly in English. Awareness of lifelong learning course being offered by public universities are also low with generally have low uptake. Finally, most career counselling in higher education institutions does not include assistance in job placement and internships and are relatively underutilized by students.

Some infrastructure in NCER’s libraries requires upgrading to be leveraged as a location to offer lifelong learning courses. By extending library opening hours to weekends, and ensuring that appropriate resources (air conditioning, reading tables, etc.) are in place, more citizens may be attracted to visit the library and attend courses.

Employment agencies identified soft skills and lack of English language proficiency as common obstacles in employing NCER citizens.

Implications of Observations

The results of the work described above were synthesised to understand the status of human capital development in NCER and its implications for regional development.

Based on the our quantitative observations, NCER should focus less on formal education infrastructure and more on student and teacher motivation, and should also create vocational/technical course streams in schools, alongside the traditional academic streams. The region should also encourage more self learning, supported by appropriately stocked libraries and accessible online courses. As the NCER grows, younger people will be attracted by the employment opportunities and, as value-added industries are attracted to the region, citizens will seek to build their skill levels to find work in these industries and boost their standards of living.

The implications of our qualitative on-the-ground observations include the need to focus on motivation among students (particularly males) and teachers rather than education infrastructure, and to expose students to industry and urban environments to open their minds to opportunities. In skills training and lifelong learning, NCER needs to develop information campaigns and make full use of new technologies to increase citizens’ awareness of the importance of education and the value of lifelong learning. There is also a need to enhance career development programs to provide students with a solid preparation for employment, as well as to encourage the use of English to help students transition into skilled work.

Vision and Mission for the Human Capital & Education Division

Vision

Nurture inquisitive, knowledgeable and compassionate human capital in NCER

Mission

Affect positive change in people development through effective planning, efficient implementation and focus on customer satisfaction

Each of the three sector pillars in the NCER blueprint—agriculture, manufacturing and tourism—has human capital requirements that require action in formal education, skills training and lifelong learning, and employment and career development.

Based on the observation made in the previous section, there are 3 long-term objectives for Human Capital & Education programs in NCER will be to improve communication skills, instigate passion for entrepreneurship and instil dedication for integrity. Focus will be given towards character building to complement efforts which concentrate on academic achievement.

To successfully obtain those long-term objectives, the Division identified specific educational needs of rural communities in NCER and will execute suitable strategies, outlined in Section 2.0 below, to provide beneficial exposures to students with low-socio economic background and increase the quality of education and infrastructure within the region.

Strategy

The results of successful human capital development will not be seen in an instant, but rather over a period of time. Given the timeframe of the implementation for NCIA-led initiatives between now and December 2010 (i.e. 2.5 years), there will be a myriad of programs with both short and long-term objectives.

Essentially, there are five broad strategies which will be executed by the Division. The key human capital-related issues that these strategies are aiming to address are rural-urban education gap, low motivation amongst students and teachers, poor academic achievements in rural schools, absence of life-long learning spirit and mismatch between industry needs and types of workforce produced by post-Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia institutes of learning. The majority of the programs to be implemented will be directed at deserving schools and students in NCER⁵. A higher proportion of the selected schools will be primary since moulding human capital will be most effective and lasting if the effort is done to those at a young age - ‘Kalau nak melenturkan buluh, biarlah dari rebungnya!’

Additional focus will be given on ‘kokoru’, a Japanese term for character development to complement existing efforts in enhancing the academic prowess of students. Ultimately over the long term, all the human-capital related initiatives will be to ensure that the forecasted demand for jobs in the future will be met (Figure 12). It is estimated that cumulatively ~250,000 direct jobs will be created until 2025 (154,000 in tourism, 52,000 in agriculture and 42,000 in manufacturing)

The 5 broad strategies are as follows:

Increase Awareness of Information Technology;
Expose NCER citizens to ‘out-of-the box’ thinking and international settings;
Empower and motivate teachers;
Encourage close industry – education institution linkages; and
Promote active participation in quality lifelong-learning

Figure 12: Estimated Job Creation in NCER
1. CAGR of 2010-2025
Note: Does not include multiplier or indirect effect. Manufacturing multiplier effect : ~1.7 – 7X. Tourism multiplier effect: 1X
Source: Agriculture: Rabobank, Manufacturing: BCG, Tourism: KPMG - 2008

Increase Awareness of Information Technology

It was observed in various visit, the conditions of ICT equipments in schools, particularly those in rural areas have much to be desired. Of the approximately 20 computers located in the IT laboratory, only a handful is functioning well. Instead of acting as a catalyst for learning, information technology is seen to be a deterrent for learning (i.e. 30 students sharing only 5 working PCs, unreliable internet connection, lack of knowledge amongst teachers, etc.). As a result, not only ICT utilization is low, rate of absenteeism amongst students also rises.

ICT infrastructure improvements in selected schools in NCER will be carried out in to create a conducive learning environment through the effective utilization of information technology resources. Digital Resource Centres (DRCs) will be created in the pilot schools through provision of the necessary infrastructure. In optimising the DRCs, a dedicated IT Facilitator will be provided to each selected school to conduct IT-based programmes and complement existing teaching resources within the schools. A rigorous selection program will be executed and a competitive compensation package will be offered to successful IT Facilitators. It is envisaged that as ICT equipments are properly maintained and teachers are well-versed to leverage information technology in classrooms, interests amongst students will increase and this will hopefully lead to a lower rate of absenteeism in schools.

Over the medium term, the DRCs can evolve to become community centres, where ICT market-driven classes will be conducted in the evenings. Top students from these classes may be offered the opportunity to become IT Facilitators in other schools. The DRCs will not only provide knowledge but also create job opportunities for the local communities. It can potentially double-up as a community business centre where key strengths in the respective localities (e.g. tourism attraction, agriculture produce, etc) can be effectively promoted and monitored.

Expose NCER citizens to ‘out-of-the box’ and international settings

Due to the inherent socio-economic conditions and the unavailability of technology in rural areas of NCER, many local citizens are not privilege to what is happening outside their area (unless if households have the right Astro channels!). In order to assist NCER’s citizens to remain relevant and aware to the constantly-changing environment globally, NCIA will initiate programs that will help to provide beneficial exposures to students within the regions

Studies have shown that the possibility of achieving success professionally will be enhanced if a career fits with the personality of an individual. Today, we have seen numerous instances of university students studying academic courses that do not necessarily be in line with ‘who the student is’ and ‘what the student likes to do’. As a result, over the longer term, the level of unemployment amongst graduates will increase. In providing knowledge on suitable or available career options to school communities from an early age, students will obtain a greater understanding of their own personality and preferences rather than being dictated by parents or teachers to pursue a certain line of academic studies or career.

International gap students from English speaking countries will be invited to contribute to the schools and social communities in NCER. By becoming temporary teachers, these students will help students to consistently practice using their English as the gap students are very unlikely to understand the local language. This initiative will not only aid uplifting the usage of English in rural areas, but also assist in promoting the culture and nature of NCER to foreigners, which is a potential boon for the tourism sector. At the same time, selected youths from NCER will also be sent to spend between 6 – 12 months living in a new country with the hope of equipping these participants with skills to adapt and prosper in a challenging environment.

Access to quality urban schooling will also be provided to deserving students in NCER to help to broaden the exposures for these children on opportunities which exist outside the confines of their villages. Post-schools hours, programmes and activities will be conducted to ensure a smooth rural-urban transition and optimise the potential of these students in areas of communication, personality development and physical education.

Empower and motivate teachers

At times, who the teacher is, is more important than what a teacher teaches. In schools, students will look-up to teachers as role-models. As such, empowering and motivating teachers will be vital to help improve on enhancing the learning experience in NCER schools particularly schools in rural areas. There are numerous instances where teachers in rural schools feel de-motivated and alone in educating students. Leveraging on information technology and providing additional knowledge in teaching pedagogies, both domestically and internationally, NCIA aims to assist in producing teachers who are motivated and willing to go the extra mile to assist their students.

Effective leadership and sustaining this “scaffolded” environment for teachers over an extended period has been shown to be critical factors in enhancing the professional learning opportunities for teachers and learning outcomes for students. Participation in these initiatives will challenge teachers to go beyond their current practices with ICTs and beyond their current assumptions of what constitutes effective teaching and learning. This will involve a gradual and mentored refocussing of teachers concerns from an initial preoccupation with their own and their students’ ICT skills to a preoccupation with the various forms of student learning that deepens their understanding of the curriculum.

Leaders of professional learning recognize that school leader and teacher belief about teacher learning and assessment impacts on the outcomes for students. If new knowledge and practices are delivered as recipes for change, without engaging teachers in discussion about their beliefs then any short-term gains will not be sustained over time. Successful professional learning initiatives in schools have demonstrated the value of the professional pressure and mutual support of professional peers in ‘learning communities’.

Critical examination of student assessment data to reflect on the effectiveness of teaching and learning programmes is the first step in becoming an evidence-based practitioner. Facilitators need to be able to challenge practice based on whether it is effective in supporting student outcomes and whether it supports teachers to understand the successful progressions in student learning. Students will be empowered to learn how to learn, and to become enquiring and self-managing learners. Teachers will become evidence-based practitioners, able to take advantage of participation in learning communities and new technologies to prepare their students for work and life in this rapidly changing global environment.

Encourage close industry – education institution linkages

Learning from the best practice country benchmarks, it will be beneficial to involve the private sector in supporting education development and to apply strict performance standards to schools in the region. Selected community colleges as will be strengthened as lifelong learning hubs and NCIA will encourage skills training through cooperative efforts between government, industry and schools. A high level of English language proficiency in the population should be seen as a competitive advantage for the region. School-industry linkages will be tighten through career guidance programs, and create placement services that offer full facilities and career counselling, and that can be accessed through multiple channels.

The implications from the needs of the NCER economic pillars include the need for industry input into school curriculum development and for alternative sources of training outside formal education institutions to meet industry needs. There is also a need for closer alignment between the existing skills training offers and industry needs as well as initiatives to increase participation in skills training centres. Proper career development programs would also help guide students to develop their skills to match industry needs. NCER citizens should be encouraged to regularly update their skills and to participate fully in the employment market.

Promote active participation in quality life-long learning

Enhancing the participation of NCER youths in vocational education will be vital to ensure market needs and quality of labour supply is adequately matched. Selected training colleges will be paired with strategic industry players to create direct industry-institution partnership for vocational workers. A number of institutions in NCER will be screened for the potential tie-up with companies with consistent need for vocational workers, such as companies operating in the E&E, industrial equipment manufacturing and hospitality sectors.

All hardware and equipment in the selected institutions will be upgraded to increase student awareness of the state-of-the-art technologies used, hence, helping them to transition into their employment more easily. The syllabus will need to be constantly reviewed to ensure relevancy with the needs of the market place and this will be done through the Industry Advisory Committee, a council established where representatives from industry will sit in and provide views on skills needed by the businesses.

In addition, tracer studies will be made to gauge the effectiveness and employability of students graduated from the selected vocational training institutions, and to identify areas for improvement. Self-employment related courses such as cosmetic salon, bakery and pastry, tailoring and fashion will also be offered by the institutions.

Boston Consulting Group, February 2008
Whole of Perak included
Whole of Perak included
Inclusive of public universities and private colleges / institutes. Whole of Perak included
Schools are selected jointly with the advised of the respective State Education Departments and will need to have the following criteria: Substantial number of students (~30%) receives the Supplementary Food Program, located in poor areas and possesses relatively low overall academic achievement.

Northern Corridor Economic Region