PUTRAJAYA — The government is turning to retired military personnel to help address labour shortages in the transport sector, including as lorry and bus drivers as well as skilled workers in the aviation maintenance industry, under a new collaboration between the Transport Ministry (MOT) and Defence Ministry (Mindef).
Speaking at the signing of a strategic Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) cooperation agreement between the two ministries today, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said agencies and companies under MOT had committed to offering 3,208 job opportunities in the ports, logistics, bus transportation and rail sectors.
“That is why agencies and companies under MOT have come forward to support this initiative by providing nearly 3,208 job opportunities in the ports, logistics, bus transportation and rail sectors,” he said in his speech.
Loke said the collaboration reflected the government’s commitment to ensuring members and veterans of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) could continue contributing to national development after completing their military service.
He said military personnel possessed qualities highly valued by employers, including discipline, integrity and resilience, as well as experience working in environments that require strict compliance with safety standards.
At a joint press conference later with Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Loke said the initiative would also help address manpower shortages across various segments of the transport industry.
“Today we are focusing on the logistics sector, truck and bus drivers, where we are facing significant shortages. We do not have enough bus and truck drivers,” he said.
“This platform can provide opportunities for them to become truck and bus drivers. There are also other sectors that urgently require manpower, such as ports.”
Loke said there was considerable overlap between the skills developed in military service and those needed in civilian transport industries.
“The skill sets that we need in the transport sector already exist among military retirees because they drive multiple heavy vehicles in the forces,” he said.
He pointed in particular to opportunities in the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) industry, which he said was expanding rapidly.
“Many Air Force personnel possess aerospace MRO skill sets. In the defence sector they work on fighter jets, while in the civilian industry they can work on private jets and commercial aircraft,” he said.
