KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 – The recent announcement that employees will be imposed with a micro-credential fee of RM300 for all Human Resource Development Corp’s (HRDC) claimable programmes, effective August 15, has met with strong objections from the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KLSICCI).
KLSICCI President Nivas Ragavan said the imposition of the fee needed to be reviewed as it would lead to higher costs for employers wanting to conduct training and upskilling their staff. Nivas said companies were already paying levies to HRDC which should be sufficient to cover the cost of trainings and the additional fee would be a definite burden to employers.
Nivas also urged HRDC to engage with stakeholders to obtain their views and opinions on how trainings could be conducted efficiently and whether the additional fee was even necessary.
Moving forward, Nivas held that KLSICC was of the view that HRDC should engage with all stakeholders before new decisions were announced, especially those involving financial impact, to avoid any discord between both parties.
Nivas also said in the current situation where labour shortage was at its highest in the country and training and upskilling can help alleviate the problem to some extent, it was extremely vital that there was mutual understanding, support and coordination between HRDC and the stakeholders.
Post pandemic, many corporations are under financial duress and imposition of additional fee such as this would be harmful for businesses, he reiterated.
Edited by Bhavani Krishna Iyer
–WE