I am convinced that the real challenge for Malaysia in the next 10 to 15 years will be talent retention rather than talent creation.
Don't take me wrong, I am not saying that we have produced enough talent in all our industries. Far from it. We still lack in that department compared with our regional competitors such as Singapore and Thailand. My argument is this : the problem with Malaysia is never with its ability to produce talent but with its ability to retain talent. As far as I am concerned, talent identification and development for a nation of our size is not a problem at all. Much of the infrastructure and programs to develop talent are already in place. With this and many more plans in the pipeline, we can easily produce the talent we need. Take for example the recent student exchange program between Malaysia and the venerable Infosys of India. For weeks, the mainstream media have been singing praises of how the exchange program has benefited the students. The students themselves have gone on record to say that they have learned more in 3 weeks in Infosys than in 1 year back in our campuses.They felt that now they have a much better understanding of the uses for the knowledge that they have gained. The minister was so amazed to see the changes in the students' behavior and attitude that he took time off to attend their 'graduation. Now, here we are with a bunch of young minds who are obviously very much excited about the prospects ahead for them in their chosen field. The question is are we prepared to do all that it takes to keep them on our shores with the right remuneration, support and assistance or will they be lured away across the causeway.
While, we should continue to invest in talent identification and development we should also concurrently take the necessary steps to retain that talent. The Americans, Indians and the Chinese know this very well. While the Indian IITs and IIMs churned out thousands of world class talents, the country it self did not do enough to retain that valuable talent.They ended up in America. The Chinese universities and polytechnics produced thousands of brilliant minds but where did they end up? At Palo Alto! Needless to say, the trend is reversing but these two countries have already lost 3 generations of its brightest and most talented.
Malaysia is at a state of emergency as far our competitiveness is concerned. There seems to be a general lack of realization that we have over the last 10 years lost our competitiveness to neighbouring countries. Low production cost is no longer a viable leveraging factor. Talent is.
