Abstract
The construction sector plays a significant role in the economy in order to achieve the inspiration to be a developed nation in 2020. In the effort to increase the efficiency of the sector, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had pledged to continue investing in human capital development in the construction industry as one of its initiatives under Productivity Thrust in Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP). However, currently, the construction industry of Malaysia is depressed by the low-wage and low productivity trap due to substantial reliance on low-skilled foreign workers. The number of local workers are not only low but are decreasing drastically due to out-migration towards better job opportunities in other sectors. Therefore, this research aims to establish a conceptual framework for Malaysians as the component of the labour force in the construction industry in Malaysia through identifying the landscape of participation of local labour, investigating factors hindering participation of local labour and propose initiatives to increase the numbers of participation of local labour. This paper presents a review of literature from journals, conference proceedings, and books. Based on the review, a framework consisting of four (4) components (i.e., Government Agenda, Local Labour in Malaysian Construction Industry, strategies to improve participation, and expected key outcomes of CITP for Productivity) is proposed. These findings will assist the extended investigation in the identification of ways to improve the participation of local labour for the Construction Industry in Malaysia.
Highlights
Since the 1980s, Malaysia has become one of the fastest developing countries in Southeast Asia where mega project are being introduced and developed in Malaysia
Rahman et al [4] claimed that, apart from social problems created by foreign workers, most of the foreign workers arrived in Malaysia were unskilled which leads to less productivity and assurance of quality in the construction industry
The New Economic Model (NEM) document discovered that the supply of Malaysian local labour is low compared to foreign labour, but the amount started to drop rapidly due to the outmigration of Malaysian towards other countries which offer better opportunities and returns [8]
Summary
During the world economic crisis in 1997, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamed, the Prime Minister during the time has introduced mega projects for the country in order to boost the economy. The rise of the construction industry has caused dependency on foreign workers which created various problems. Among the problems is dissatisfaction of the contractors with the productivity level of foreign workers, the outflow of local currency, transfer of skill and knowledge of foreign workers to their country, unemployment of local people and social ills [2]. Rahman et al [4] claimed that, apart from social problems created by foreign workers, most of the foreign workers arrived in Malaysia were unskilled which leads to less productivity and assurance of quality in the construction industry. The Prime Minister of Malaysia emphasized that the government will focus on the thrust in the CITP for productivity, workforce, technology and process so that the changes for the industry can be made [7]
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