The current 11.3 million labour force in Malaysia need a new strategy in human capital development as the country prepares for a transformation into a high income economy, said Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam.

NONE He said the recent problems in human capital development were in relation to brain drain, high turnover and lack of skill due to rapid emergence of service-based industries and knowledge-based industries.

"The gap in some critical skills to boost productivity must be addressed such as creativity and innovation, professional communication, English proficiency and IT skills," said Subramaniam ( right ) in his speech before presenting the Malaysia Human Resources Awards in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said as the nation moves towards a higher value-added and knowledge-based activities in all sectors, there was a need to continuously improve the human resource competency, capabilities and competitiveness.

"This be achieved by heightening our collective engagement and commitment to improve the quality of working life by investing in appropriate workplace best practices, provision of decent condition of employment and maximizing the potential of human resources," he added.

- Bernama