We caught up with MRG Malaysia’s Ashley Mathew to discuss the current opportunities and challenges in Malaysia’s engineering professional talent pool.
Malaysia is producing engineering graduates in significant numbers, but the challenge we face is converting that talent into experienced professionals who can take legal and technical responsibility for major projects.
Today in Malaysia, fully licensed engineers represent only a small percentage of total registrants. A recent article highlighted a growing issue within the industry that, while the number of registered engineers in Malaysia has increased sharply over the past decade, the proportion progressing to Professional Engineer (PE) status remains low.
For sectors such as construction, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing, this has wider implications, as Professional Engineers are critical to project delivery, compliance and long-term industry capability.
So, what is happening to our domestic engineering talent?
The article, which I urge you to read in full, identifies several causes of the bottleneck. Firstly, the pathway towards professional accreditation is demanding, requiring years of supervised experience before candidates can sit for the Professional Assessment Examination. At the same time, awareness of BEM registration and professional progression remains inconsistent among graduates and employers alike.
International mobility also plays a part as Malaysian engineers are highly regarded globally, particularly across major infrastructure and construction markets. While this reflects positively on the strength of local talent, it can also lead fewer professionals to pursue local accreditation pathways, as they instead choose to pursue their careers abroad.
Ultimately, this is not a graduate supply issue. Malaysia has the talent. The focus now must be on creating stronger pathways towards professional accreditation and leadership development.
As projects across Southeast Asia become increasingly complex, organisations that invest in mentoring and structured development will find themselves in a far stronger position for the future.
To discuss talent trends across Malaysia’s built environment and infrastructure sectors, please feel free to reach out to Ashley Mathew.
*Source: https://news.umpsa.edu.my/experts/why-malaysias-ir-stagnating