AWS (Amazon Web Services) has partnered with Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education’s (MOHE) Jabatan Pendidikan Politeknik & Kolej Komuniti (JPPKK) to build the next generation of AI workforce, addressing the current shortage of AI skills in Malaysia’s workforce.
According to a study, 81 percent of Malaysian employers report difficulties in finding AI talent, despite a high demand for these skills, hence the partnership aims to reduce the gap through targeted AI training for educators and students in Malaysia’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sector.
AWS Helps Building AI Workforce
In September 2024, JPPKK became an AWS Authorized Training Partner with Digital Capability, with the cloud provider delivering cloud and AI training to 140,000 students across 36 polytechnics and 105 community colleges in Malaysia. The company also has made over 200 cloud and AI courses accessible to students, including a bespoke course on responsible AI, which introduces generative AI principles, challenges, and ethical considerations – the course has since drawn over 1,000 participants, the company said in its press release.
JPPKK also collaborated with AWS and Jabatan Digital Negara (JDN) to organize the POLYCC Large Language Model (LLM) League 2024. Held in Putrajaya from August 11 to September 22, the competition brought together 1,500 participants from polytechnics and community colleges to gain hands-on experience in generative AI; in the finale, participants’ models were evaluated on cultural relevance, technical accuracy, and real-world applicability, with Politeknik Mukah Sarawak emerging as the winning team.
“As an empanelled Cloud Service Provider under the Malaysia government’s Cloud Framework Agreement, AWS is using our expertise in developing industry-leading cloud and AI solutions, and delivering effective learning mechanisms such as the AWS LLM League, to help students acquire generative AI skills in a fun and engaging way,” said Peter Murray, country manager of AWS Malaysia.
Pokdepinion: It is pretty apparent that Malaysia is running on a rapid pace for its digitalization efforts.
