KUALA LUMPUR: Automotive labour forces in the country should be upskilled to cope with the industry's transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric vehicles (EV).
Simon Ng, Dassault Systèmes Partner sales director for Asia Pacific South, said the widespread and effectiveness of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the country plays a vital role in enhancing the nation's automotive industry.
"The Malaysian government is encouraging TVET but the technical stream training in the country can be strengthened further," he said in his presentation on preparing Malaysia's automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM), supply chain and workforce for the EV era, here today.
He said that Dassault Systèmes, a French multinational software corporation, plans to work with several government agencies in the future to implement its Virtual Twin platform in TVET.
Ng added that upskilling current and future labour forces in the automotive sector could help the industry move up the value chain, from low-cost production to high-value innovation.
This could help the government to increase manufacturing value-added to RM583 million by 2030 as targeted in the New Industrial Master Plan (2030).
During his presentation, Ng revealed that more than 2,600 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were sold in Malaysia in 2022, compared to 274 units in 2021.
Meanwhile, Dassault Systèmes vice-president of Transportation and Mobility Asia, Guillaume Gerondeau said that the company targets to go zero carbon by 2040, and is keen to help the automotive industry to reduce carbon emissions in its manufacturing segment.
He said the corporation's virtual platform enables industries to calculate the amount of carbon used in the entire production process and provide them with better solutions. – BERNAMA