The Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) announced that Datuk Noor Farida Binti Mohd Ariffin has been named Chair of the Fund’s board of directors, effective January 1.

Datuk Farida has had a long and distinguished career in public service as a judge, legal adviser and diplomat, most notably as the Ambassador of Malaysia to Netherlands.

Since her retirement from the Foreign Ministry in 2012, Datuk Farida has headed the law reform committee at the National Council of Women Organisations; she also serves on the boards of Ecoworld Berhad and Aerospace Technology Systems Corp Sdn Bhd.

“Datuk Farida is a proven leader and her appointment as the Chair will be invaluable.

“The Fund also expresses its appreciation for the leadership of the board’s deputy chairman, Datuk Quah Thain Khan, during a period of great change for the Fund,” said HRDF.

In 2018, the Fund recorded an impressive 23 per cent growth in registered employers, bringing the total to over 26,000, cumulatively providing jobs to 2.3 million Malaysian employees.

For 2019, HRDF looks forward to implement several action plans to strengthen the Fund and increase the proportion of skilled Malaysian employees, including Bringing Wrongdoers to Book which means that HRDF will continue its internal investigations, started in July 2018, to bring all errant stakeholders, including training providers, trainees, and staff who have connived with them, to book.

The Fund has already filed reports to the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission; it has also filed civil claims against trainees for submitting false particulars while in the meantime, civil claims will soon be filed against errant training providers.

These efforts build on the report delivered by the five-member Governance Oversight Committee in November 2018 and made publicly available by the Fund at its website.

The Fund will also Strengthen its Enforcement Measures as one of the actions taken, which means it will ensure all liable employers are registered by the end of 2019, and will continue to take action against employers who fail to register as required by the PSMB Act 2001.

It shall also act against employers who fail to meet or under-report their levy commitment and those who do not carry out training programmes as agreed and by the end of the year, HRDF expects to expand the Act to cover all remaining industries.

Another action HRDF is implementing is Training 1.2 million Malaysian employees as the Fund aims to provide training to 1.2 million Malaysian employees in 2019 by working closely with and understanding the training needs of its registered employers through the HRDF Skills Framework that will be rolled out this year.

The Fund will also implement Creating Job-Ready Graduates where it will focus on developing job-ready youths and graduates, especially from low-income families, by investing in selected Industrial Skills Training Institutes and courses, and serve as a bridge between the Human Resources Ministry and industry.

Another action HRDF is implementing is Raising the quality of training professionals by reviewing and upgrading its long-standing train-the-trainer programme through developing a trainers’ competency framework that includes continuous professional development.

This will be developed in partnership with trainers and training provider associations and related Government agencies.

Finally the Fund will implement the action of Becoming an employer of choice, as the Fund, which employs 315 Malaysians from across Malaysia, will continue to emphasise diversity and inclusion in 2019; to better serve its customers and stakeholders.

Also, the Fund will seek to provide opportunities for the differently-abled and retirees this year.

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