Partnering with Malaysia's Universities to prepare students for a cloud-first world

As part of Google’s skills programs around the world, Google recently launched Gemilang, its new digital training programme in Malaysia, that offers flexible learning paths for all Malaysians. This includes the Google Cloud Skills pathway, which is available to higher education students, thanks to our partnerships with local universities such as UNITEN. Gemilang helps learners develop knowledge and acquire digital skills for in-demand jobs. Additionally, to support Google’s mission of advancing Malaysia together through an equitable and inclusive digital economy, Google is offering 31,000 scholarships for Google Career Certificates through local partners, comprising education institutions, industry partners and nonprofits. 

Google Cloud is partnering with universities like Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) to offer the Google Cloud training curriculum that equips undergraduates with technical proficiency in cloud computing and prepares them for careers in data analytics, machine learning, application development, and more. Google provides the curriculum and support for teaching staff, online courses and hands-on labs for students, at no cost to the universities or students. 

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), which has a high level of expertise in the field of Information Communication Technology (ICT), was the first Malaysian Public Higher Education Institution to offer Google Cloud’s Career Readiness program to their students, and has fully integrated this into the curriculum of their Information Technology Diploma. They will be able to link their successful students to local employers.

According to Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)¹, Malaysia’s digital job vacancies have almost tripled as of April last year, yet a PwC report² shows that 88% of Malaysians surveyed are ready to learn new skills or completely retrain to remain employable in the future. A report from the Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI)³ shows that the most in-demand digital skills in the country includes big data analytics, digital marketing, and artificial intelligence. Additionally, a report by AlphaBeta found that if leveraged fully, digital technologies could create up to USD257.2 billion worth of economic value annually in Malaysia by 2030⁴. 

At the launch, Marc Woo, Managing Director of Google Malaysia said, “To ensure the growth of our digital economy supports as many Malaysians as possible, we are committed to supporting a more equitable and inclusive digital ecosystem–one that is built for every Malaysian–and this is a vision we cannot realize alone. We at Google Malaysia, together with our partners, want to provide digital skilling opportunities to all Malaysians from all backgrounds.”

Google has formed an employer consortium to connect graduates from Gemilang with employers who recognise the qualifications and digital skills. Current members of the consortium, in addition to Google, include Amanz, Astro AWANI, Carsome, Fave Asia, IPG Mediabrands, Jirnexu, Maybank, McDonald’s Malaysia, Omnicom Media Group (OMG), PETRONAS, PHD, REV Media Group, The Star Media Group, The Lorry, and Storehub.

<sup>1. From op-ed by Dr Sumitra Nair, Vice President & Head of Digital Skills and Jobs at the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
2. PwC’s “New World. New Skills” based on the Hopes & Fears survey of Malaysians in April 2021.
 3. SERI’s Digital Talent Report
 4. “Positioning Malaysia as a Regional Leader in the Digital Economy” report published in October 2021.</sup>