Let’s talk about something that’s changing the game for Malaysia’s tech future: a bold new partnership between GKK Malaysia and IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation (IIT MPTF). If you’re someone even remotely paying attention to how AI and digital tech are taking over the world—this collaboration is one to watch.

Introduction : 

Here’s the context first. The digital economy in Malaysia isn’t just growing—it’s booming. In 2023, it made up a solid 23.5% of the country’s GDP. That’s RM427.7 billion worth of economic activity. But—and here’s the catch—there’s a massive gap when it comes to skilled professionals. This is where GKK Malaysia steps in. Known for their training and certification programs, they’ve now joined hands with IIT MPTF—an innovation hub backed by one of India’s most prestigious institutes, IIT Madras. And this isn’t just any academic handshake. This move directly supports Malaysia’s National Artificial Intelligence Office (NAIO) and fits squarely within the national digital blueprint.

So, what’s actually happening?

GKK Malaysia and IITMPTF are rolling out certified tech education programs across Malaysia. These aren’t generic online courses. They’re focused, high-value modules on AI, semiconductor design, green energy, and applications of Industry 5.0—areas that are going to define the next decade. These programs will be delivered by seasoned experts and hosted at Malaysian public universities, blending theoretical learning with real-world application.

universities, blending theoretical learning with real-world application.

Dr. Gajendra Balasingham, GKK Malaysia’s Managing Director, put it bluntly: "Companies are hiring—but they can’t find the people with the right skills." He also pointed out how geopolitical shifts like new US tariffs are influencing hiring strategies. Multinational corporations (MNCs) are now more inclined to hire locally in Malaysia to cut costs, but that only works if the talent pool is ready.

And here’s why this is more than just a skills bootcamp. Dr. Balasingham made it clear that the initiative aims to empower underserved communities. It’s about building an inclusive, future-ready workforce that not only meets Malaysia’s tech demands but also thrives in global markets.

Let’s bring in IITM PTF's side of the story. Balamurali Shankar, their Chief Knowledge Officer, emphasized that this partnership is laser-focused on reducing the digital skills gap. Students will not just learn AI or cybersecurity in theory—they’ll be trained by both academic and industry veterans. Think of it like an internship, masterclass, and certification program rolled into one.

We trained about 150 fresh graduates in Java full stack 80% of them have got jobs 20% are going to get jobs and minimum salary of 2005 and above and I give you one more statistics which very interesting there's a requirement of at least 6,000 Engineers tet uh skills needed no Supply employees also waking up to the reality and they also realize that their Workforce need to be upskilled to catch the next wave right that's a big hello listeners with the growth of our Malaysian economy and also the influx of FDI and also the shortage of talent today we'll discuss a topic that is very important which is the empowerment and upskilling of talent in Malaysia so we have Dr gajendra baling gajan welcome to the show thank you thank you both all right so Dr gajendra or gajian is actually from gkk Consultants as you can see the logo in the back so he has 18 years of experience in the IT industry ranging from different companies as well um he holds multiple certifications I aile um lean 6 sixma um Len and bitf as well that's why he's a doctor many certifications um and you know know Guardian can you tell us more about gkk Consultants uh gkk stands for golden key to knowledge uh I found this company in 2011. it was found because when I graduated I had a big issue issue whatever I learned in uh College I I did a computer science degree I had some good marks I could not get a job based on that because at that time that was 2003 employers were looking for Java people who can do programming now fast forward 20 years later even today that's the same problem right so that was one of the reasons why I formed this company I wanted to uh upscale the malians on what industry needs and make sure they get a job so 20 years fast forward uh we trained about 20 150 fresh graduates in Java fullstack 80% of them have got jobs 20% are going to get jobs and minimum salary of 2005 and above yeah so U yeah the problem led to a solution that uh which led to gkk basically yes golden key right yes so like I think back when you first graduated there was this problem why do you think there is this gap between higher education and also the demand in the market good question I think I think government is trying its best to fix this problem but government alone cannot fix it multiple parties have to come together that's where you know uh we we do we to become change in the world we have to change ourself first that's the reason why I form this company um I I see that uh we we don't put what industry wants into the syllabus number two is very less Hands-On in skills that's why currently the tiet is a better option and it's a hot topic that spoken about because more Hands-On uh work happens there right and in industry is willing to hire malians they they more than willing but they need someone who can do the job on the on the go right they don't have the time and the bandwidth to train them for one month three months and then deploy them in the job so that's why the the the skills are very critic critical and important you mentioned Jawa just now um in my previous experience I was part of a Academy they also teach a bit of coding as well even the full stack coding as well right and you mentioned that when you graduated this was lacking and today they still need Java and I when I talk to you say they still looking for Java developers yes surprisingly and another thing that's very worrying is when I trained this graduation Java full stack I did not focus on C++ and others because I saw saw the syllabus it showed it has but when they went for interview they couldn't pass certain interviews because it's only done on a high surface level in the college so this is a big gap actually and not only that now we have more needs like now from java full stack now we're looking at Cloud we're looking at uh Big Data we're looking at AI machine learning right which uh universities and uh degrees they're not offering that or they have but in very high level surface level so that's not going to cut right that's a big gap there right and I know that through your LinkedIn you know you meet some of these high LEL higher institutions Higher Learning institutions what is your observation so far they are trying to get these courses in or good question um indust uh I mean universities Academia they are very much eager to fix the Gap but they need to be handheld they need to be um helped and assisted that's where we we work with universities uh we help them uh develop their micr credentials their intervention programs um but the pro problem is it takes time to Market time to go live right so that take maybe six months 8 months one year but we don't have so much of time so that's that's a challenge in the market now yeah and yeah so that's how you started and why you are so passionate today so tell us more about the early years of gkk Consultants you mentioned you started back a decade ago so how was your early years then yes it was a struggle uh but somehow we actually it was a group of friends so we uh it's very ironic that uh first training I got it was in MNC company where the trainers screwed up the first day they he got fired so they asked me to do the training so I became The Accidental trainer right and then um uh I liked it a lot they L the training after I ended up doing about 15 or 20 sessions and then I didn't have time so I got my friends from other companies so I I think we were the first training provider to bring industry people to do professional training because those days trainers were like working full-time trainers what what year was this 2011 2011 was kind so I was still working I was doing this part- time uh then in 2018 I came out fulltime we got our first big break with the government project we did lot of train and place programs in those days uh and then tragedy struck I think um uh some issues happen uh our bank balance went to minus 2,000 but uh we we still uh moved on we did lot of training overseas uh Maybank was kind enough they gave us a very a Term Loan supporting loan and everything was going good and 29 I still remember 2020 March 17th I guess lockdown right suddenly everything froze because now all the trainings vanished right um what are we going to do so either we close down or wait until they open up after the covid or you know we find another way so we uh in 5 days we moved all our modules online uh I think that's when I got to know you also through Maverick another good friend he was I joined his program for Facebook and marketing and he recommended me to you for LinkedIn since you are the LinkedIn seu right so uh I we did a lot of courses online so 5 days we moved our programs online we started training online I think three two months later we got a project from government to train retrench people um everything was done online so it's it was really crazy but today I look at it I think that was the best thing to happen uh and then our turnover from I think reached uh went up by by about 60% uh today we are doing revenues of about 10 to 20 million a year so very grateful to that Journey right um yep that's yeah it's good to hear that because it is something you are passionate about and of course good that something are passionate about also gets a good return a good turnover as well um and I think what you mentioned was you were helping those who are unemployed all right and I see some of your Linkin post and also personally talking to you you are very passionate about helping the unemployed and in Malaysia we not only have unemployed we have underemployed we have a lot of people who are um have the right certifications but are driving grab or doing kick work right so what is your how are you looking to help these people.