KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's workforce and talents must be encouraged and inspired to make lifelong learning and continuous personal development a priority for the country to remain strong and competitive in the future.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said it is imperative for the government and industry players to work together to expand learning and development opportunities for the people.

"After two challenging years, we are finally enjoying a period of economic stability backed by a growing labour participation rate which stands at 70.1 per cent as of July this year.

"To continue our growth and recovery momentum, we must continue to invest in our talents and workforce," said Al-Sultan Abdullah in his royal address at the launch of the National Human Capital Conference and Exhibition (NHCCE) 2023 at the Malaysian International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) here today.

The King said efforts by the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) and Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp) are crucial in helping the country achieve its aim to continue growth and recovery momentum by creating the right policies and ensuring the delivery of a structured mechanism for training and training funds.

His Majesty said the MOHR had also introduced various initiatives to provide upskilling, placement, employment and income-generation opportunities for communities in need such as single mothers, former prisoners, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

Al-Sultan Abdullah said these are good efforts to ensure that no one is left behind and the rakyat could grow together as a nation.

"With the initiatives put forward by the MOHR and the collective efforts of industry players, I am confident that we can achieve our goal of having a 35 per cent skilled workforce by 2030," said the King.

His Majesty said Malaysia had also faced a significant health crisis that changed the way people live their lives, educate the students, operate businesses and manage varying industries.

These changes have also caused a significant paradigm shift for the people, businesses, industries and nation, said His Majesty.

Al-Sultan Abdullah said some of the key lessons to have emerged from the last few years are that businesses that pivoted quickly were able to persevere while agile and dynamic talents who tried new things were able to thrive.

"At the core of this is the fact that our people help us persevere during periods of economic uncertainties and they also help us progress during periods of economic prosperity," said His Majesty.

The King said Southeast Asia's annual growth rate is outpacing global averages and one of the reasons for the region's accelerated rise is its large share of the world's diverse and young workers most of whom are under the age of 30.

Therefore, His Majesty viewed that platforms such as NHCCE 2023 are a great way for human resources practitioners, business leaders and subject matter experts to come together to discuss their current socio-economic challenges and realities and identify the best solutions and opportunities that can help them thrive.

NHCCE, the largest human capital conference and exhibition in Southeast Asia attracted some 4,000 participants, is taking place today and tomorrow and is organised by HRD Corp and is supported by the MOHR.

-- BERNAMA