Today marked the launch of the Penang GBS Industry Academy 2.0: #genai Talent Ready, by YAB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang. This launch is in conjunction with the Penang Career Discovery Day 2025 (PCDD 2025), a significant annual government-industry-academia event dedicated to building a future-ready workforce for Malaysia’s digital economy. MDEC is proud to support the PGIA 2.0 programme in building an AI-ready workforce by equipping graduates and professionals with industry-relevant skills, while strengthening Penang’s position as a leading hub for AI and semiconductors. Since its launch in November 2022, the Penang GBS Industry Academy (PGIA 1.0) has trained over 1,105 participants through 40 courses, reinforcing Penang’s digital talent development to enhance the readiness and competency of GBS talent in Penang. Building on this success, PGIA 2.0 will address the AI talent gap by offering industry-driven upskilling in three key sectors such as IC design with embedded software, GBS and automation. The training scheduled from June to December 2025 for phase 1, it aligns with Malaysia Digital (MD) focus areas, National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), NIMP 2030, and the NAIO, supporting national goals in AI and semiconductor advancement. Representing MDEC at the launch was Ir. Wan Murdani Wan Mohamad, Head of Digital Industry Acceleration, alongside esteemed partners; YBhg. Dato’ Loo Lee Lian, CEO of InvestPenang; Dr. Hari Narayanan, CEO of PSDC; and Mr. Kevin Leong, Committee Member, Penang GFG. MDEC remains committed to advancing national priorities in digital innovation, AI, and semiconductor excellence through strategic collaborations like PGIA. #sayadigital #malaysiadigital