Gamuda-VTAR partnership to offer next-gen Digital IBS TVET course

08 Jul 2023 | The Star

At the MoU signing on July 7 were (from left) VTAR chairman Soon Mon Huay, Gamuda Engineering executive director Lim Hui Yan, VTAR advisor and former transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, Gamuda Berhad group managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling, VTAR CEO Tan Cheng Liang, Gamuda Engineering executive director Datuk Ubull Din Om and Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) president Oliver Wee.

Petaling Jaya: Gamuda Berhad has signed an MoU with private vocational training institution VTAR Institute to launch a new technical and vocational education and training (TVET) course for next-gen Digital Industrialised Building System – the first for Malaysia.

With increasing attention and prioritisation on sustainable development, aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, Gamuda Land – the property arm of Gamuda Berhad – will have 90% of its units built with next-gen Digital IBS, which translates to over 3,000 units yearly.

Through this programme, Gamuda will collaborate with VTAR to create the Certificate in Digital Manufacturing in Construction programme.

The first intake for this programme will be in September 2023. Gamuda’s partnership with VTAR is expected to deliver 600 trainees in the next five years.

This RM30mil collaboration is part of Gamuda’s commitment to invest in local talent and this aligns with the government’s vision to make Malaysia a fully developed industrial nation.

The Certificate in Digital Manufacturing in Construction programme is a customised 24-month training programme open to all Malaysian students.

The programme will consist of three months of soft skills training in VTAR, followed by 21 months of on-the-job training within the actual work environment and final assessment at Gamuda’s next-gen Digital IBS factory in Banting, Selangor.

This novel approach, distinct from typical TVET training, will equip trainees with the most up-to-date construction industry skillset and enhance the competitiveness of local industries in the global market.

Gamuda’s next-gen Digital IBS digitises the construction process from cloud-based design to robotic manufacturing and Lego-like installation on site – allowing a 55% reduced reliance on unskilled foreign workers.

Aside from gains in productivity and efficiency, it also enables a 40% reduction in embodied carbon.

This new approach in construction is the way forward, and the TVET trainees will be well equipped with Gamuda’s digital design and robotic manufacturing expertise.