MALAYSIAN work permits this year will only be issued to those who have completed an induction course arranged by the Malaysia Ministry of Manpower, sources within Myanmar’s overseas employment industry said last week.

Applications for Malaysian work visas made after January 5 will only be accepted if the course has been completed.

Deputy Minister of Labour Brigadier-General Win Sein said the course, which was authrorised by the Malaysian government, covered the four core-skill areas of communicative English, Malaysian culture, job safety and current Malaysian employment law.

Daw Khin Than Nu, director of Winbond Management and Consultancy – the only program provider in Myanmar – said the program would be mutually beneficial to Malaysian employers and Myanmar workers.

“In nine cases out of ten, conflicts between employers and employees are due to misunderstandings and the language barrier,” she said.

The courses cost hopeful migrant workers K26,000 and have been on offer since last December.

“Up to the end of January, more than 3000 Myanmar young people have completed the course,” Daw Khin Than Nu said.

With up 150,000 Myanmar having officially taken up work opportunities in Malaysia, Myanmar is the third largest contributor to Malaysia’s migrant workforce of 1.3 million, which accounts for 12 per cent of the total workforce.

A crackdown on illegal foreign workers in Malaysia in early 2005 prompted the government to introduce the induction course.