KUALA LUMPUR: Yayasan Peneraju’s ambitious plans to train more than 100,000 Bumiputera professionals in the realms of business services and technology are highly lauded, and are responsive to today’s rapidly evolving job market, driven by technological advancements and shifting industry needs.
CEO Ibrahim Sani said that unlike traditional models where funding is directed to learning and training institutions (LTIs), Yayasan Peneraju’s new financing scheme directly empowers the talents themselves by giving the training funds
directly to them and not to the LTIs. This allows the talents to have greater control over how they want to build
skills and shape their careers themselves.
“This approach goes beyond preparing individuals to simply be just hired hands or employees forever; the goal is to develop them to be future business owners, professional leaders, and community impact drivers.
“Through platforms like Peneraju Alumni, YPX (Yayasan Peneraju Exchange) events and other engagement channels, talents actively shape the training and learn to allocate resources they receive, to ensure they get what they think they deserve the best.
“This adaptive model ensures Yayasan Peneraju remains aligned with industry demands while fostering the growth of dynamic, multifaceted leaders,” he told SunBiz.
Ibrahim said that in a world where technological advancements are reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace, aligning skill development with real industry demands is crucial.
Yayasan Peneraju is actively addressing this challenge, particularly in rapidly evolving fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor design and cybersecurity.
Ibrahim said this monumental shift was instructed by Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, who is also the chairman of Yayasan Peneraju, as it is the CEO’s mission is to make professional training more accessible, and to be able to scale up enrolments multifold.
Additionally, Ibrahim said cross-ministerial partnerships with the Future Skills Talent Council under TalentCorp and the Johor Talent Development Council further enhance their efforts.
“Engaging directly with over 300 employers across various sectors allows Yayasan Peneraju to gain valuable insights into the skills that are truly needed in the marketplace. This strategic approach not only prepares talents for current opportunities but also equips them for future challenges,” Ibrahim said.
He noted that as Yayasan Peneraju’;s ambitious journey of tripling graduate outputs and expanding total talent enrolments to 7,200, comprising 5,000 in technology and 2,200 in professional fields, the agency faces significant challenges.
This is just a start, as Rafizi has also announced that Yayasan Peneraju will start enrolling over 10,000 talents per year from 2026 onwards.
“In mid-March 2025, we marked 2,000 registrations just weeks after our launch. However, if the current enrolment rate persists, we anticipate reaching our goal well before June 2025. This surge in interest may even prompt us to reconsider our capacity, potentially increasing our target from 7,200 to 10,000 or even 15,000,” Ibrahim said.
Last month, Rafizi, through Yayasan Peneraju, which comes under the Economy Ministry, introduced a structured financing programme, with Silver, Gold and Platinum packages, offering up to RM150,000 per individual starting in 2025.
The minister said the new tiered scheme aims to accelerate Bumiputera talent development with RM150 million in annual allocations.
“We need to further increase Bumiputera participation in professional fields while fulfilling the country’s economic needs, and we have to do this by scaling up enrolments aggressively in the years to come.
“That is why we have completely transformed not only the financing model but also the development of the local training and upskilling industry, making it more competitive and accessible to a larger number of people,” Rafizi told
reporters at the announcement of the new financing scheme.
When asked if the annual RM150 million allocation is sufficient to meet rising demand, Ibrahim said the allocation for talent development is significant, but questions remain about whether it will be enough to meet the growing demand
for skilled professionals.
“;Interestingly, we believe that this amount might even be too high. Yayasan Peneraju has managed to lower training costs by encouraging competition among LTIs, which are eager to attract talents. LTIs now have to compete to get our talents, and the best way to do this is to make their training costs more competitive and optimal.
“With the new financing scheme, talents can take loans, prompting them to choose the most affordable and optimise their training options. This shift means that LTIs must keep their prices competitive to remain appealing.
“Instead of focusing solely on increasing funding through private partnerships or international collaborations, Yayasan Peneraju aims to create a more efficient training and upskilling marketplace. This approach is designed to make the best use of resources and effectively meet the changing needs of the industry,” Ibrahim said.
He said while talents in underserved regions or those lacking digital access are addressed by different agencies, Yayasan Peneraju has seen a significant shift in enrolment from Sabah and Sarawak.
Before 2022, he added, these regions accounted for just under 5% of the total talent pool. However, following the leadership of Rafizi and Deputy Economy Minister Datuk Hanifah Taib, enrolments from Sabah and Sarawak have increased twentyfold, now making up about 15% of the total talents financed by Yayasan Peneraju.
“This dramatic rise indicates that issues related to digital access are not a primary concern for Yayasan Peneraju,” Ibrahim said.
Source:
The Sun Daily
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