PUTRAJAYA, Nov 19 — Human Resources Ministry’s list of jobs categorised as critical will be ready in December, its minister M. Kulasegaran announced today.

Once it is ready, the list, which reflects jobs trend in the next 10 to 15 years, will be distributed in schools as a guideline for students in choosing courses to further their studies after graduating from high school.

"This list will help parents and children prepare themselves as the Fourth Industrial Revolution is approaching and requires certain sectors of employment that value technical skills.

"When I spoke to about 400 teachers about five months ago, they were clueless [about this]. They were shocked, and they don’t know that this is the reality that will take place,” he told reporters after the 2019 Prime Minister’s Golden Hand Award ceremony held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here.

The process of preparing the list involved cooperation from Talent Corp, World Bank, the International Labour Organisation, and Institute for Labour Market Information and Analysis, he said.  

In addition, based on the Malaysian climate, Kulasegaran said many jobs will be at risk with the presence of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and big data.

"[That is why] we must be ready to embrace these challenges,” he said.

Kulasegaran added that the list of critical jobs will also be made available on the Human Resources Ministry’s website.

"This is a warning for the public. Maybe Malaysia hasn’t felt it yet, but in 15 years’ time, yes.

"Even now you can see that there are a lot of jobs which are beginning to be phased out,” he said.