The government is committed to enchancing the availability of talent particularly by nurturing local Malaysian talent, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar.

Malaysia has made great strides in its journey to transform into a developed high-income nation by 2020, but reaching this goal requires the right quantity and quality of talent, he said when launching a career fair at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) here today which featured some 50 top companies from the engineering, oil and gas and energy sectors.

Abdul Wahid said the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) has identified 12 Entry Point Projects (EPPs) which are expected to contribute RM47.1 billion to the Gross National Income (GNI) to meet the 2020 target.

The National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) are expected to generate a GNI contribution of RM131.4 billion and create an additional 52,300 jobs, he noted.

"A significant proportion of these jobs will be highly-skilled with an estimation of 21,000 (40 per cent) for qualified professionals including engineers and geologists with a monthly salary of between RM5,000 and RM10,000," he said.

In 2012 Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd commissioned PwC to conduct a study on the talent demand supply dynamics and the talent priorities and preferences of Malaysian oil and gas players.

"The same report also found UTP graduates are widely recognised within the oil and gas sector as being well-rounded individuals with good technical and soft skills.

"Companies also shared that the seven-month internship programme conducted by UTP provided graduates a strong exposure to the expectations and needs of oil and gas employers and therefore helped them make a smooth transition into the workforce," Abdul Wahid said.