Yesterday Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), Malaysia continued its rapid stride in the transformation of public transport services by expanding further its collaboration internationally, in human capital development by establishing collaboration with National Skills Academy For Rail (NSAR Limited), United Kingdom as an initiative from National Rail Centre of Excellence (NRCOE), Ministry of Transport to produce highly skilled and professional workforce not only for KTMB but also for the rail industry as a whole.
Witnessed by Minister of Transport, Yang Berhormat Datuk Seri Ir Dr. Wee Ka Siong, the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Collaboration (MOC) was held at Ministry of Transport (MOT) Malaysia, Putrajaya through virtual meeting. The agreement was penned by Chief Executive Officer KTMB, Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin, with NSAR Limited was represented by Mr. Neil Robertson, Chief Executive Officer of NSAR and also witnessed by Minister Heaton-Harris the Minister of State for Transport UK.
This MOC is a form of mutual commitment by both parties to develop railway skills curriculum for professional certificates as well as to set up latest railway technology training facilities for rail industry players such as virtual reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR), Computer Based Training (CBT), virtual classroom in order to facilitate, upgrade and expedite the process of up-skilling, re-skilling, occupational analysis, supply & demand mapping and others.
National Rail Centre of Excellence (NRCOE) has been established under purview of MOT to spearhead the development in railway industry, including education and training within railway sector by continues engagement with academics, training providers and certification bodies, both local and abroad.
Malaysian Railway Academy (MyRA), the Human Capital Development (HCD) arm of KTMB, trains 10,000 staffs and third parties annually in the field of train operations & traffic control, track safety, rolling stocks & railway infrastructure maintenance engineering as well as in soft skills courses directly related to rails.
Meanwhile, NSAR being an established training and assessment provider in Europe has a lot to offer in terms of training module and standard development to cater the gaps in railway related talents in Malaysia.
Through this MOC, KTMB and NSAR steered by NRCOE to further strengthen the cooperation as a knowledge partner for capability and capacity in developing professional training program not only for KTMB workforce but to all rail industry in Malaysia and ASEAN.
Moving forward, KTMB and NSAR are highly committed to develop the human capital needs in railway sector. By nurturing more qualify and top-quality talents, it will drive productivity and improve competitiveness and ultimately enhancing rail industry performance globally in achieving the goal.
The investment made by the government will ensure Malaysia receives the full economic benefit in rail and infrastructure development.
The MOU is valid for three years; but may be extended upon agreement by both parties.