KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — The number of foreign workers to be recruited for barbershops, textile shops and goldsmiths will be decided at a Cabinet meeting this Friday, said Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar.

He said other details on the matter will be discussed in the meeting as well.

"If there are any other details, I may announce it after Friday’s Cabinet meeting,” he said at a press conference after launching the National Training Index (NTI) here today.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government had approved a portion of the foreign worker intakes for the three sectors, which had previously been halted.

However, Anwar set the condition that local youths should be trained to fulfil the demand in these sectors.

On a separate development, Sivakumar said several agencies under his ministry, including the Industrial Training Institute, have now switched their existing automotive programmes to electric vehicles-based courses.

He said this is aimed at fulfilling the increasing demand for EVs locally and globally and addressing its impact on Malaysia’s automotive industry.

"We must be prepared and ensure the trained (mechanics) are upskilled to keep up with the times. The automotive programmes on Internal Combustion Engine are now switched to EV,” he said.

He was commenting on local media reports that the high demand for EVs would jeopardise mechanics who do not keep up with current technology. — Bernama