Khazanah to offer a special centre to 6,000 redundant MAS staff

A source familiar with the restructuring said the focus of the outplacement centre (OPC) would be to extend all relevant and required support to the various groups of employees leaving the national airline.

This would include professional, emotional and financial support to assist them as they transition out to the next stage of their career.

Khazanah had, at the end of August, announced its 12-point plan to resuscitate the national airline which would see 6,000 jobs cut across the board and result in the emergence of a 'new' and leaner MAS come July 1, 2015 from its existing workforce of 20,000 employees.

According to the source, the OPC would help transition employees who have been identified under three categories - early retirees, job seekers and potential entrepreneurs.

OPC comes under the auspicies of the Corporate Reskilling Centre (CRC), set up for the restructuring and support services, and would cover areas such as financial and retirement planning, career guidance and counselling, linkages to possible recruiters and partnerships with potential statutory bodies.

For the early retirees, OPC would provide counselling on managing their retirement funds, as well as, adjusting to life after retirement.

For those employees who opt for reskilling, entering a new job or perhaps another industry with different requirements, the OPC would help to position them for the future.

The reskilling at CRC would cater to employees who opt for training and reskilling to obtain new skillsets as CRC would provide them with the necessary infrastructure and support so that they may excel in other careers after MAS.

Khazanah and MAS have partnered with Scicom (MSC) Bhd and Sutherland Global Services to reskill MAS staff.

In addition, the OPC offers guidance and assistance for those who opt for the entrepreneur route.

The source also said the OPC would assume a crucial role in the restructuring process, not just from the side of the 6,000 staff but also from the aspect of the 14,000 employees moving to the new MAS where there would be assessment of employees who might be moving internally.

"Both sides of the fence will require support and counselling as they move to a 'different' work place and adjustments to be made within the different environments and requirements," he said.

Asked how the 6,000 redundant employees would be identified, the source said the process was being carried out by human resource professionals who are currently looking into the job requirements post-restructuring.

"Having a third party to do this will eliminate biasness and favouritism, taking into account the proper principles of fairness, transparency and compassion," he said.

A new concept in Malaysia, this OPC is the first holistic and comprehensive plan to help affected staff transition to new jobs, said the source.

This outplacement programme is unique in the context of staff retrenchments in the country because it takes into account all aspects of the career transition issues by catering to the needs of the employees - those who want to retire, those who want to be entrepreneurs and those who are looking for new jobs.

Additionally, individuals are also provided with the option to enroll into CRC which will provide them the opportunity to up-skill themselves for the job market and potential entrepreneurship activities.