ASEAN
22 March 2014
Job vacancy: green accountant in Malaysia
Green jobs are not an option. They are a must to drive businesses that strive to go green, writes Frost & Sullivan's Melvin Leong.
Green jobs are not an option. They are a must to drive businesses that strive to go green, writes Frost & Sullivan's Melvin Leong.
In recent times, the green technology sector has been earmarked to propel Malaysia from a middle-income to a high-income economy. This feat requires a highly skilled workforce together with other factors such as foreign and domestic investments, knowledge and technology transfers, and research and development.
Other industries such as building, transportation, energy, chemicals, and so on are heading towards green too. This can be achieved with the use of green technologies or even green business models which require knowledge development and subsequently, new job descriptions. The shift towards green jobs is multi-dimensional. While additional new jobs would be created in the realm of green technologies, other jobs in traditional industries such as coal and oil may need to evolve.
For example, architects would no longer design buildings based on styles but also to incorporate passive green facade designs into its blueprint. Civil engineers may have to consider using prefabricated materials to ensure that construction processes have less carbon footprint. With this in mind, any country looking to develop a green economy must ensure a smooth transition from conventional industries to newer ones.
The work scope transition has been gradual, and it is essential to ensure that the new green economy can be built. The workforce must be adequately educated and trained, and this leads to the creation of new jobs in the future. Additionally, capital derived from existing industries must be channelled into the development of green technologies and importantly, the relevant human capital investments, to ensure business sustainability.
The greening of industries is already taking place, albeit in a steady pace.
The role of universities and training institutions cannot be dismissed as best innovations and technology development tend to take place there, and these are the places that talents are honed and can be identified as the future green talents.
In recent years, professional services such as market research and consulting firms have diversified their services from traditional industries into green technologies, taking advisory roles for firms that are keen to invest into green technology sectors. Education institutes have also begun to offer related courses, or syllabuses to meet the increasing demand of knowledgeable labour.
The creation of green jobs is further heightened with Panasonic aiming to invest in the Malaysian housing industry with their best practices in green homes. The company has recently opened a showcase eco-home in Kuala Lumpur that features energy efficient and environmentally friendly elements, and believes that Malaysia is in the right position to develop and adopt green technologies in residential construction.
Nonetheless, challenges remain in terms of implementation and execution. Policy frameworks and mandates are sufficient but collaborative approaches must be explored. The education sector may need to be improvised with syllabuses and teaching methodologies that emphasize on green technology and applications, and not just simply science subjects. Next, there must be a strong and proven framework that enables and attracts foreign talents to work easily in Malaysia, and most importantly, a collective pursuit to train and retain the local workforce.
Fortunately, Malaysia has plausible and progressive facilities, avenues, and infrastructure to support the growth of the green technology industry. Moving forward, there must be a forcible plan to develop new and sustain existing knowledgeable green talents to support the industry. All ministries and agencies at the federal and state levels must share a prevailing action plan that specifically outlines the approach in green talent development, and wherever possible, replicate similar efforts of other countries’ best practices.
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Current scene
With the population of 29.3 million, Malaysia had a strong labour force of about 12.7 million people in 2012, with an unemployment rate of 3 to 4 percent since 1998. Moving forward, the workforce in the country will become a very important factor to resonate with Malaysia’s aim in creating a private sector-led economy with innovation-led growth.In recent times, the green technology sector has been earmarked to propel Malaysia from a middle-income to a high-income economy. This feat requires a highly skilled workforce together with other factors such as foreign and domestic investments, knowledge and technology transfers, and research and development.
We are already green?
So what exactly are green jobs? There are many definitions of green jobs, green workers, green talents or the variations of it. Frost & Sullivan defines a green job as work that supports or contributes directly or indirectly, to activities or work or businesses that promote environmental sustainability. Fundamentally, most environmental markets are considered ‘green’.Other industries such as building, transportation, energy, chemicals, and so on are heading towards green too. This can be achieved with the use of green technologies or even green business models which require knowledge development and subsequently, new job descriptions. The shift towards green jobs is multi-dimensional. While additional new jobs would be created in the realm of green technologies, other jobs in traditional industries such as coal and oil may need to evolve.
For example, architects would no longer design buildings based on styles but also to incorporate passive green facade designs into its blueprint. Civil engineers may have to consider using prefabricated materials to ensure that construction processes have less carbon footprint. With this in mind, any country looking to develop a green economy must ensure a smooth transition from conventional industries to newer ones.
The work scope transition has been gradual, and it is essential to ensure that the new green economy can be built. The workforce must be adequately educated and trained, and this leads to the creation of new jobs in the future. Additionally, capital derived from existing industries must be channelled into the development of green technologies and importantly, the relevant human capital investments, to ensure business sustainability.
Needed: A defined roadmap
Fundamentally, a roadmap is essential to forge the much needed pool of green talents. First there must be sufficient infrastructure development with corresponding policies. Subsequently mapping of green jobs must be done through the creation of green jobs blueprint, and finally as a long term measure, there will be methods to consistently improve and sustain the entire green talent roadmap.1. Industry Development & Policy Support
By 2015, there should be 500,000 green jobs in Malaysia, which is considered a conservative target against the current available workforce. Numerous steps have been carried out in Malaysia to create conducive green industries and ecosystem. Besides the creation of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA), there were revamps such as the case of Malaysian Green Technology Corporation, and National Green Technology and Climate Change Council. This is followed by the initiation of the Green Technology Financing Scheme in 2010 to attract innovators and users of green technology into Malaysia.The greening of industries is already taking place, albeit in a steady pace.
2. Green Jobs Mapping
The third thrust of Malaysia’s National Green Technology Policy focuses on intensifying human capital development in green technology. While there may be plans and initiatives such as implementation of retraining programs and the formulation of grading and certification mechanism, there must be greater concerted efforts between various ministries such as KeTTHA, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education, and Ministry of Human Resource.The role of universities and training institutions cannot be dismissed as best innovations and technology development tend to take place there, and these are the places that talents are honed and can be identified as the future green talents.
3. Creation & Sustainability
A financing scheme was already in place for green technology development in Malaysia. Besides this, there are tax exemption mechanisms to encourage the development of green technology and projects. These financial interventions provide capital directly and indirectly for many SMEs that are looking to innovate and grow their green technology businesses. As these companies grow, they would need to invest significantly into manpower, thereby creating green jobs for Malaysians.In recent years, professional services such as market research and consulting firms have diversified their services from traditional industries into green technologies, taking advisory roles for firms that are keen to invest into green technology sectors. Education institutes have also begun to offer related courses, or syllabuses to meet the increasing demand of knowledgeable labour.
The future for investors
The development of green jobs is multi-dimensional as described above. From the investment point of view, there are already sporadic initiatives on green human capital development in Malaysia. Recently, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Malaysia and Bayer Material Science AG have agreed to work together to develop modules to train skilled workers in the construction sector. The aim is to increase the level of sustainability in that sector.The creation of green jobs is further heightened with Panasonic aiming to invest in the Malaysian housing industry with their best practices in green homes. The company has recently opened a showcase eco-home in Kuala Lumpur that features energy efficient and environmentally friendly elements, and believes that Malaysia is in the right position to develop and adopt green technologies in residential construction.
Nonetheless, challenges remain in terms of implementation and execution. Policy frameworks and mandates are sufficient but collaborative approaches must be explored. The education sector may need to be improvised with syllabuses and teaching methodologies that emphasize on green technology and applications, and not just simply science subjects. Next, there must be a strong and proven framework that enables and attracts foreign talents to work easily in Malaysia, and most importantly, a collective pursuit to train and retain the local workforce.
Fortunately, Malaysia has plausible and progressive facilities, avenues, and infrastructure to support the growth of the green technology industry. Moving forward, there must be a forcible plan to develop new and sustain existing knowledgeable green talents to support the industry. All ministries and agencies at the federal and state levels must share a prevailing action plan that specifically outlines the approach in green talent development, and wherever possible, replicate similar efforts of other countries’ best practices.
Acknowledgements and contacts
This article was authored by Frost & Sullivan's Melvin Leong.For media queries or more information please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.