Prepared by: Noraini Rusbadrol and Azlineer Sarip
Human Resource Workshop 2021 was organized on 24th June 2021 by Work, Learning, and Development Research Group (WORLD) from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH), UTM. With the theme of “Factors that Shape Future Workforce”, this workshop was aim to connect the experts with other Human Resource experts in the industry and to update with the newest trends and developments. The participants were not from various regions in Malaysia only, but also from other countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Iraq, Philippines, Brunei, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria.
The opening remarks of the workshop was delivered by Prof. Dr. Ts. Zaidatun Tasir, the Dean of FSSH, UTM. In her opening speech, Prof. Dr. Ts. Zaidatun thanked the audience and highlighted the significance of the topics to both employers and employees in dealing with the current changing workforce environment since the COVID-19 outbreak.
Guest speakers from the industry
The workshop which was held live on Facebook featured four guest speakers from the industry; (1) Madam Betty Hassan, the Senior Director from Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis (ILMIA), (2) Madam Zainubiah Abd Aziz, the Custodian of Learning and Development Specialist from PETRONAS Leadership Centre, (3) Mr. Aziz Jameran, the Head of the Group Human Capital Division from Ranhill Utilities Bhd, and (4) Mr. Shazmi Ali, The Country HR Director from Shell Malaysia.
With the topic of “Malaysia Labor Market – Updates & Trend”, Madam Betty Hassan did not only share the labor market landscape and updates, but also highlighted on job creation scenario as well as some human resource challenges which led to the suggestion in maximising economic growth without continued reliance on foreign labors. Besides, sharing by Madam Zainubiah Abd Aziz on “HR Leverage Technology for Competent Workforce” topic gave the audience some idea on how organizations and human resource development respond to the transformations and changing environment which result in shifting in human capital composition in organizations. Meanwhile, in the topic of “Hybrid Working”, Mr. Aziz Jameran has provided an exposure on hybrid working prevail during the pandemic which emphasizing on more effective way in measuring employee productivity. The final guest speaker who is also the Adjunct Professor of the FSSH, Mr. Shazmi Ali has provided valuable practical advice in dealing with employee wellness challenges. With the topic of “Employee Wellness Trend – Ideas and Challenges”, Mr. Shazmi sharing has triggered employers to take into account potential challenges in applying holistic wellness approach to suit their organizations. Based on the feedback and responses gained by the audience, it showed that the sharing by the industry guest speakers really inspired them, especially when the information shared was based on the real cases of the industry practices.
Human Resource Workshop 2021
Throughout the workshop, the experts from four different Research Groups were also involved by presenting their research areas for the opportunity of collaboration with industry players and government agencies. The four Research Groups involved were : (1) Work, Learning & Development (WORLD) led by Associate Professor Dr. Roziana Shaari, (2) Nationhood and Social Well-Being (KKS) led by Associate Professor Dr. Azhar Abd Hamid, (3) Industrial, Work and Organizational Psychology (IWOP) led by Dr. Nor Akmar Nordin, and (4) Dr. Nor Erne Nazira Bazin as the representative of Applied Industrial Analytics Research Group. The online interaction between the audience and the Research Group representatives was very beneficial in helping the audience to understand more about the research areas that they are interested to work on and collaborate accordingly to the suitable Research Groups.
Apart from sharing by the industry keynote speakers and representatives from the research groups, the information sharing was continued on “Double Tax Deductible” by Mr. Mohd Farizal Rashid, a representative from Research and Management Centre (RMC), UTM. In his sharing, Mr. Farizal has provided clarification on how the industry can benefit from the double tax deductible by involving in research collaboration with UTM.
In the closing remarks, the Chair of School of Human Resource Development and Psychology (SHARPS), Associate Professor Dr. Siti Aisyah Abdul Rahman highlighted that the HR Workshop 2021 did not only expose the audience on the updated challenges and trends in human resource field, but it also provided research collaboration opportunities between UTM and the industry. The support and response given by the audience indirectly has given an injection of enthusiasm for us to organize more programmess in the future. The recording of this program can be viewed on the Facebook page of the School of Human Resource Development & Psychology, UTM at https://www.facebook.com/shrdp4.0/videos/785887498780171
The team of Work, Learning, and Development Research Group (WORLD) from FSSH, UTM, are very grateful to the industry guest speakers and the entire community of UTM residents who are directly and indirectly involved in the success of this program. Thank you for the participation and support from all.