Developing talent for Malaysia’s digital economy with MDEC and AWS Tech Alliance

Industry demand for cloud and AI skills is rising in Malaysia as the country pursues its digital transformation agenda. However, 81 percent of employers report difficulty finding the AI talent to fill current roles, highlighting a gap in skills that MDEC is looking to bridge.

As leader of the Malaysia Digital strategic initiative, MDEC contributes 26 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) through digitization programs and policies. “Talent development is key to MDEC’s mandate,” says Head of Tertiary, Digital Talent and Entrepreneurship, Nik Hishamuddin Bin Nik Mohd Yusoff, “and it’s integral to our target of getting to 30 percent GDP growth by 2030.”

Around 10 percent of the organization’s 500-strong workforce is dedicated to developing skills training programs. In 2017, it launched the PDTI initiative to strengthen Malaysia’s digital talent pipeline. PDTI status is awarded to selected universities and polytechnics with a record of delivering high-quality technical education, with 42 PDTIs faculties from 29 higher learning institutions currently part of the program.

“PDTIs empower MDEC’s vision for Malaysia as a digital-first country,” says Digital Talent and Entrepreneurship Lead Fazryatul Hazrim Binti Abd Rahim. “The program brings together academia with industry, employers, and tech partners like AWS Tech Alliance to ensure graduates attain the cloud and AI skills so they can fill in-demand roles.”

Since AWS Tech Alliance launched in Malaysia in 2024, MDEC has “made remarkable progress in modernizing technical education and connecting talent with digital career opportunities,” says MDEC’s Chief Executive Officer Anuar Fariz. “Our partnership with AWS Tech Alliance has been instrumental in equipping Malaysia’s PDTIs with the tools and resources to cultivate highly skilled digital talent. The collaboration also makes PDTIs an attractive choice for budding tech talent.”

AWS Tech Alliance supports PDTIs through curriculum modernization and industry engagement events, preparing students for diverse career pathways. In April 2025, 38 faculty members from 14 PDTIs attended a curriculum review, covering skilling pathways in Software Development, Data Analyst, and Cloud Support Associate, impacting 37,000 students nationwide. Anuar says, “By using AWS expertise and validated skills maps, we’re empowering our institutions to bridge the skills gap, modernize their curricula, and produce graduates who are ready to drive Malaysia’s digital transformation.” MDEC also works with AWS Tech Alliance to expand AI literacy programs to non-technical universities as Malaysia focuses on AI to drive innovation and global competitiveness. “We want every student—not just those in technical fields—to build AI awareness,” says Nik. “It’s a critical step in advancing the country’s digital agenda.”

Students enrolled in MDEC PDTIs gain valuable exposure through industry-led experiences, with AWS Tech Alliance connecting them to a network of AWS customers and partners seeking to hire the next generation of tech talent. In 2025, 200 business and tech students came together to create practical apps with Cognizant Malaysia using the AWS PartyRock AI platform. “Building a future-ready digital workforce starts with developing strong AI and emerging technology skills. Working alongside AWS Tech Alliance, we’re helping to strengthen Malaysia’s AI talent pipeline and advance the country’s digital competitiveness. We were proud to support the PartyRock Fintech Ideathon at Management and Science University [MSU] by bringing our practitioners directly to students, mentoring them as they designed AI applications, and equipping them with practical, in-demand generative AI skills,” says Thomas Mathew, Vice President and Head of Association of Southeast Asia Nations Global Client Network (ASEAN GCN), Cognizant. “As part of our Cognizant Synapse mission, we look forward to expanding our collaboration with AWS through APJ AI for Impact Community Labs in 2026, bringing together practitioners, partners, and communities to drive inclusive, real‑world AI capabilities.”

Other highlights from the MDEC–AWS Tech Alliance collaboration included the AWS GenAI Cloud Quest Tournament, where students connected with employer Galactic Network and gained experience using Amazon Bedrock, the easiest way to build and scale generative AI applications with foundation models. The collaboration also saw MDEC PDTI students representing their country in global competitions, including the Developer Challenge with CodeSignal where students gained hands-on experience in coding and prompt engineering as well as employer insight from eCloudValley Malaysia, which offered fast-tracked internship interviews as prizes for the top performers.

“AWS Tech Alliance events help students develop cloud skills as well as gain the soft skills they need to improve their employment prospects,” says Nik. “It’s a taste of the real world, where they have to find solutions to problems, connect with peers, and understand what employers are looking for.”

Through their multi-year collaboration with AWS Tech Alliance, MDEC PDTIs are advancing Malaysia’s digital transformation goals while improving the job prospects and earning potential of thousands of students. As part of MDEC’s initiatives for PDTIs, the Digital Tech Faculty Expert (DTeX) program has upskilled over 958 lecturers, impacting more than 25,000 students nationwide, of which approximately 40 percent have been trained in cloud technologies. “Our strategic collaboration with AWS Tech Alliance aligns perfectly with our national digital agenda,” says Anuar. “The collaboration contributes to increased employability and salary premium for certified graduates, which is helping Malaysia retain top tech talent.”

The partnership is also helping to support women in technology. More than 100 female students took part in technical training and panel discussions as part of Women in Cloud held in collaboration with The Asia Foundation. “The event was truly insightful and empowering,” says Karmen Chee, Faculty of Computing and Informatics, Multimedia University. “I appreciated the panelists’ transparency in sharing their personal journeys as women in their fields. The discussion on career growth, mentorship, and confidence-building was especially valuable, providing practical advice that we can apply in the real world.”