Personalentwicklung und berufliche Bildung in Malaysia Ziele, Finanzierungsmodell, Entwicklungsperspektiven

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, the levy/'grant (payroll tax) system has become key financing model for human resource development measures in Malaysia. The article sheds light on the motives behind respective policy interventions which led to theformation of the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) as implementing agency in 1993. The HRDCadministrates the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) according to the Human Resources Development Act which requires employers to contribute 1% of their monthly basic wages and fixed allowances to the HRDF. The fund is aimed at encouraging the retraining and skills upgrading ofMalaysia's workforce in line with employers' needs and the country's industrialization strategy, by reimbursing major portion of the training costs. The article provides an overview about the institutional profile and mission of the HRDC/HRDFand its multiple training schemes vis-a-vis the structural challenges of Malaysia's technical education and vocational training system, followed by an assessment of its goal attainment in terms of policy objectives and its impact on Malaysia's development based on the findings of an evaluation study conducted by the author in 1996/1997. The essay also sketches some of the limits of the levy/grant (payroll tax) system with reference to the Asian crisis and presents some of the policy measures introduced by the HRDC in order to alleviate the negative effects of the economic downturn on corporate human resource development measures.