Effective inclusive talent development in enhancing B40 youth employability in Malaysia: a proposed frameworkTools Darmalinggam, Darshana (2022) Effective inclusive talent development in enhancing B40 youth employability in Malaysia: a proposed framework. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham.
AbstractTalented citizens build a strong nation with right human resources and are the gateways to success and prosperity. In this regard, governments worldwide have embarked aggressively in building their internal talent pipeline for multiple reasons such as to avoid dependency on foreign labours, to stimulate local talent development and to support the achievement of knowledge-based society goals. In its Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV) 2030, Malaysia aspires to uplift the bottom 40% (B40) household income group by addressing wealth and income disparities. By 2030, the nation seeks to eradicate poverty via provision of employment opportunities and career progression plans. However, a grey area exists between the nation’s aspirations and the nation’s actions towards poverty eradication. Despite umpteen efforts aimed at the upliftment of the B40 group, the nation lags behind its targeted outcomes in spite of various policies being drawn out. This delay is attributable to the mismatch between government policies with that of organisational practice and industrial requirements in regard to B40 youth’s knowledge, skills, abilities and attitude. Past studies have attested to the notion of increased employability as a result of skillset development. However, talent development practices globally have been catered towards exclusive, ‘A’, ‘star’, or ‘high-performing’ employees instead of an inclusive approach. This research sets to address the gap mentioned above by studying the effectiveness of talent development as a key talent management tool in creating an inclusive equitable society within the context of Malaysia’s B40 group. From a pragmatic perspective, a sequential mixed methodology approach is used in the study. Focus group interview sessions and one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted online with a total of 11 representatives from multi-stakeholder groups. Findings from the qualitative study and literature were then jointly utilised in developing a testable research framework. The quantitative methodology had a final sample size of 373 consisting of Malaysian B40 youths that have undergone training. The mixed methodology found three key insights. (1) Training is important in uplifting the B40 youth in line with Malaysia’s SPV goal of poverty eradication, as inclusive talent development via training was found to enhance B40 youth employability in Malaysia. (2) Pre-training checks or assessments and post-training follow-ups are imperative. (3) Proactive measures by multi-stakeholders are crucial in the success of B40 youth training towards enhanced employability. The study provides a framework in which the mismatch of resources acquired by the unemployed B40, also known as the less privileged in talent management literature, and the resources required by the industry can be curtailed. Effectively, the findings could potentially contribute to the Ministry of Human Resources and other relevant authorities who aim to regulate, govern and provide jurisdictions to parties involved. The findings could help them improve the management of B40 talent in Malaysia while bridging the gap between the high- and low-income group towards an equitable inclusive nation.
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