Malaysia is aiming to promote the identification of potentials green industries, jobs, and skills among the ASEAN member countries during its tenure as the chairman of ASEAN labour sector. According to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia hopes to develop equivalent regional policies regarding green industries during the three-year period from this year to 2020.

In his speech which was read out by Human Resource Minister M. Kula Segaran at the opening of the 25th ASEAN Labour Ministers Meeting on Wednesday (Nov 28), the Prime Minister stated the country’s commitment to do its best to take the labour sector forward by incorporating green jobs and skills into the guidance of its chairmanship.

He also said that ASEAN looks forward to collaborating with its dialogue partners China, South Korea and Japan to make meaningful headway for the future of green jobs and skills in the region. Dr Mahathir expressed confidence that the ASEAN labour sector will witness significant outcomes in promoting and facilitating the greening of industries as well as jobs and skills.

As reported in the Development Bank of Singapore Annual Report 2017 on Green Job Opportunities in ASEAN, the region seen a growth by 3.2 percent in terms of employment in the green economy within the last two years. This statistic was higher compared to the overall economic growth of five to six percent, which is almost 1.4 million new green jobs created.

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“In the same vein, we have seen strong growth, particularly in the renewable energy sector such as wind and solar power, as well as the production of equipment and installations for heating and energy saving that subsequently create jobs in the region.

“Looking forward, as technology evolves, we can expect an increase in the creation of new green jobs, and stronger growth in current occupations and greening industries,” he said.

Further, Dr Mahathir said that the Malaysian government aims to boost the growth of its green technology sector, with a targeted revenue of RM180 billion while creating more than 200,000 green jobs by 2030. In this regard, he is optimistic of the prospects of the sector, stressing that now is the time ‘for the government and workers’ and employers’ organisations to venture into the promotion of green jobs and skills, Bernama reports.

He said the greening of the regional economy also demands that the people in the region specialise in the right skills, adapt to changes and seize the new opportunity.

Read also: Workers in India and Indonesia Most Optimistic About Career Prospects in Asia-Pacific