MALAYSIA Airlines has introduced an upskilling and reskilling programme, called MH Edgile, to more than 2,000 employees affected by the airline’s reduced network and operational capacity.

Its parent, Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), said the employees comprised mainly pilot, cabin crew and other front-line staff.

The programme provides opportunities for employees to be upskilled and reskilled for other jobs in the company, either in specialised areas such as facilities management and audit, or in general and trainable areas such as sales and in the IT helpdesk, MAG said in a statement today.

The programme enables the national carrier’s employees to lend their expertise and services to support the long-term business sustainability of the company, and explore new avenues to grow and develop their potential within the company, MAG said.

Subject to approval, this group of employees would be temporarily re-assigned to other departments that require workforce for critical roles or job functions resulting from the constrained workforce.

MAG group chief executive officer Izham Ismail said with the pandemic still showing little sign of letting up, forcing some airlines to halt operations and ground almost the whole fleet, it was important for the group to prepare its workforce with new skill sets to become more efficient in their current roles or shift into emerging positions, as well as to support the company’s business goals.

“This is the perfect time for the staff to reinvent themselves,” he said.

According to him, this initiative is offered voluntarily and subject to job pre-requisites and the selection criteria of the receiving department.

All assignments will be on a full-time basis. However, employees will still be allowed to maintain their job licence validity.

The period of the interim assignments would depend on the company’s business and operational requirements, MAG said.

Employees with approved applications will be equipped with the knowledge and new skill sets through coaching and training.

Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s group chief human capital officer, Mohd Khalis Abdul Rahim, said the airline was on a journey to transform MAG employees into a workforce adaptable to new challenges and ready for a post-Covid-19 world.

“At MAG, we strongly believe in developing talent and creating a culture of continuous improvement to drive the long-term business sustainability of the group.

“We are embracing the “Lean and Agile” work culture and digitalisation simultaneously, to take full advantage of the opportunities the new norm has to offer. Therefore, improving work quality and amplifying learning are central to success,” he added.

A recent report by Reuters said that MAG has warned leasing companies that Khazanah Nasional Bhd would stop funding the group, forcing it into a winding down process if restructuring talks with lessors are unsuccessful.

The airline, like many others, is suffering from travel bans and plummeting demand as a result of the pandemic, with the national carrier now staring at the prospect of bankruptcy.

Today, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz reiterated that the government will not pump in any more funds into Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) and it is purely up to its sole owner, Khazanah to sort out the airline’s problems. – Bernama, October 8, 2020.