Malaysia
Strategies for youth employment
- Strategies for youth employment
- Yes
Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years
- Discussions within the government
- Yes
- Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
- Yes
- A draft strategy already exists
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- No
Countries with national action plans for youth employment
- Monitoring framework (timeline and activity/outcome indicators, e.g. youth labour market indicators)
- Yes
- Funding (indicative budget to implement the plan)
- Yes
- Institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministries/agencies in charge of specific planned activities )
- Yes
- Other, specify
- No
Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
- Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
- Ministry of Finance (MoF) - Ministry of Human Resources (MoHR) - Ministry of Economy (KE)Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Youth in the national development / employment strategy
- Yes
Additional information:
• The Malaysian Youth Policy (MYP) emphasizes strengthening youth human capital and unlocking their potential as drivers of the country’s strategic development, in line with the Federal Constitution and the principles of the Rukun Negara. • The Twelfth Malaysia Plan (RMK-12) 2021–2025 explicitly targets youth development and employment through policies focused on inclusive economic growth, future-ready talent, and improved technical and vocational education and training (TVET). • The 2025 National Budget outlines continued investment in youth employment initiatives, skills development, and entrepreneurship programmes.Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Countries with national goals for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
Malaysia’s national goals to promote youth employment focus on reducing unemployment, enhancing employability, and ensuring fair workforce practices. Key initiatives include: • Reducing Youth Unemployment: Creating job opportunities and improving employability through apprenticeships and targeted programmes. • Enhancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) outcomes: Increasing salaries and employability of TVET graduates through industry-aligned training. • Ensuring Fair Workforce Practices: advocating equitable treatment and recognition of youth in the workforce. • Expanding Apprenticeship: Offering hands-on experience to prepare youth for real-world work environments. • Boosting Employability and Marketability through soft skills development, on-the-job training, and exposure to workplace demands. • Aligning Youth Skills with Technological Advancements via reskilling and upskilling under initiatives like the HRD Corp Claimable Scheme, which prepares young people for opportunities in the digital and green economies. • Supporting Career Development through Budget 2024 Initiatives, such as structured career pathways for gig workers and the establishment of a National Career Placement Centre to connect graduates and job seekers with employment opportunities.Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
Malaysia has not established specific quantitative targets, such as reducing the youth unemployment rate by a defined percentage, to promote youth employment at the national level. However, efforts to enhance youth employability are evident through key initiatives: • HRD Corp - Upskilling and Reskilling Performance (January–November 2024): A total of 693,800 youth participated in various HRD Corp schemes aimed at enhancing their skills and employability. • SOCSO Job Placements (January–September 2024): 157,355 individuals, including youth, were successfully placed in jobs during the third quarter of 2024.Policy areas in national youth employment strategies
- Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
- Yes
- Enterprise Development
- Yes
- Education, Training and skills development
- Yes
- Labour Demand
- Yes
- Labour Law and Legislation
- Yes
- Labour Market Policies
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- No
Social partners' inclusion in the youth employment strategy
- Workers
- Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
- Fully involved
- Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Employers
- Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
- Fully involved
- Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Youth-led organizatios' inclusion in the national strategy
- Fully involved
- Yes
- Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
- No
- Consulted
- No
- Informed
- No
- Not involved
- No
Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: Several initiatives have been undertaken to create and strengthen national partnerships aimed at promoting youth employment in Malaysia. These collaborations involve a wide range of stakeholders, including government bodies, industries, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). _______ 2024 SOCSO has partnerships with sectoral ministries, local governments, industries, associations, NGOs, public and private universities, training and TVET institutions. ii. The Department of Skills has initiated a strategic collaboration with industries, cross-ministries, NGOs, schools, public and private universities, as well as international organizations. iii. The Youth and Sports Ministry collaborates with the TVET employment committee and engages in cross-ministerial efforts. Additionally, the ministry partners with NGOs for collaborative initiatives. iv. HRD Corp engages with the Industries, cross-ministries, public and private training institutions. --------------- 2023: Strategic collaboration with Industries, Cross-Ministries Collaboration, NGOs, schools, public and private universities as well as National Youth Council.Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national strategies
- Women
- Yes
- Migrant Workers
- No
- NEETs
- Yes
- People with disabilities
- Yes
- Low skilled workers
- Yes
- Rural workers
- Yes
- Other (please specify)
- No
Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
- Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
- Yes
Additional information:
2025: The International Labour Organization (ILO) provides technical assistance and support to Malaysia through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) signed in 2019 by the Ministry of Human Resources, the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), and the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC). Under Priority 2 of the DWCP: Future of Work, several initiatives have been undertaken to enhance knowledge, skills development, and labor market capabilities of youth related to the future of work. These projects include: 1. Skills for Prosperity Project: Focuses on developing inclusive skills to support economic growth and workforce readiness. 2. Young Futuremakers Project: Aims to empower young individuals with the necessary skills and opportunities to thrive in the evolving labor market. 3. Policy Measures to Support Local Workforce into Employment (SOCSO): Enhances strategies to integrate the local workforce into sustainable employment. 4. Promoting Socio-Economic Inclusion Through Education and Training: A joint ILO-UNICEF initiative to improve access to education and training opportunities for children on plantations in Sabah, fostering greater socio-economic inclusion. __________- 2024 Skills for Prosperity Project (SfP) under the ILO-Malaysia (2019-2023) The project aims to increase national capacity for inclusive economic growth through more future-ready and equitable skills and TVET systems by addressing both skills demand and supply through sectoral approaches to skills development. The sectors focused in this project is food manufacturing and construction with also a specific focus to Sabah and Kedah in terms of geographical location. The projects main target group is youth (16-25 years old), women, B40, Persons with Disabilities, jobseekers, self-employed and individuals employed in the Gig Economy. ii. Young Futuremakers Malaysia The ILO also implements the Young Futuremakers Malaysia project in Malaysia in 2022-2023 with a focus on promoting employability of young women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project takes an integrated approach in supporting the employability of young workers as well as technical vocational education and training TVET trainees and graduates. It aims at (i) providing up/reskilling training opportunities, especially for young women, with a focus on demand-driven tech-oriented STEM and core skills towards their career advancement and (ii) supporting TVET graduates’ labour market transition through employment services. __________________ 2023: ASEAN 1. Development of ASEAN Work Plan on Youth to among others enhance youth employability through skills training and life-long education. 2. Skills for Prosperity Project (S4P) under the ILO- Malaysia Decent Work and Country Programme. The project aims to increase national capacity for inclusive economic growth through more future-ready and equitable skills and TVET systems by addressing both skills demand and supply through sectoral approaches to skills development. The sectors focused in this project is food manufacturing and construction with also a specific focus to Sabah and Kedah in terms of geographical location. The project’s main target group is youth (16-25 years old), women, B40, Persons with Disabilities, jobseekers, self-employed and individuals employed in the Gig Economy. Young Futuremakers Malaysia The ILO also implements the Young Futuremakers Malaysia project in Malaysia in 2022- 23 with a focus on promoting employability of young women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The project takes an integrated approach in supporting the employability of young workers as well as technical vocational education and training TVET trainees and graduates. It aims at providing up/reskilling training opportunities, especially for young women, with a focus on demand-driven tech-oriented STEM and core skills towards their career advancement and supporting TVET.