Meraque Services Sdn Bhd (Meraque) has teamed up with the Malaysian Air Youth Club, Malaysian Youth Council and Tenggara Parliament Coordinating Office with the aim of cultivating young talent that will meet the demands of the growing drone industry in Malaysia.
In a statement, the drone tech company said it organised a two-day Malaysian Young Generation Drone Technology Career Development Programme.
Through the training and skilling program, Meraque claimed it will mould 500 youth by 2023, equipping them with the necessary skills sets to become industry-ready.
Chief executive officer of Meraque Md Razalee Ismail said with Malaysia’s ambitions to become a major player in the global drone industry as well as a potential drone hub in ASEAN, there is a pressing need to grow the number of skilled workers in the drone sector.
“The career development programme is a catalytic step in ensuring a vibrant talent pool with the right skills required to propel this emergent industry.
“This programme symbolises Meraque’s commitment to pioneer human capital development in technology and manufacturing industries for local young talent in Tenggara,” he said.
“The drone landscape is changing rapidly, therefore, we endeavour to enable the nation’s youth to adapt to this shift and reap benefits.
Md Razalee said the syllabus will introduce youths to the world of drones and train them in all aspects of the industry.
The programme also featured a drone exhibition and an agro-drone demo. The programme’s corporate collaborators and government-linked companies include Boustead Holdings, Felcra, Kejora, FGV, Sime Darby, Edotco, MRCB and DBKL.
Adham Baba, minister of science, technology and innovation (MOSTI) said the application of drone technology is becoming widely used from agriculture to medicine to logistics, delivering safer, cheaper and more efficient alternatives.
“The drone ecosystem is expected to witness exponential growth which will create a huge demand for talent with drone technology capabilities. Therefore, proactive measures must be intensified for our youth to take on opportunities in the drone space across the world to unlock new economic wealth for the nation,” he said.
In September 2021, the Malaysian government launched Area 57, a drone development zone, in Technology Park Malaysia in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
It also identified Felda Mempaga in Pahang; Drone and Robotic Iskandar in Johor; and Urban Delivery Drone in Cyberjaya for further developement.
