Malaysia upskills civil servants in AI tools

The initiative aims to enable civil servants to better generate content, summarise information, analyse data, and enhance meetings with AI-generated notes.

The Malaysian government upskills 200 ‘Change Ambassadors’ in Gen AI tools to drive public service transformation. (Photo: Malaysia.news)

Malaysia’s Digital Ministry has organised a training programme for 200 civil servants, aiming to enhance their skills in using generative AI tools as part of the government’s push for digital transformation.

In an announcement on March 12, the ministry said the "Train-the-Trainer" initiative is a key component of the "AI At Work 2.0" programme running from March 3 to 7 in Putrajaya. It enables civil servants to better generate content, summarise information, analyse data, and enhance meetings with AI-generated notes.

A joint effort between the Digital Ministry, Google Cloud, the National Digital Department’s (JDN), and the National AI Office (NAIO), the "AI At Work 2.0" programme aims to equip 445,000 public officers with Google Workspace’s latest generative AI suite, Gemini. It is expected to improve service delivery and boost productivity across government agencies.

Among the first 270 public officers from the JDN taking part, 91% reported saving an average of 3.25 hours per week on work. Encouraged by the results, the government expanded the programme to ensure widespread AI adoption across public service.

In December 2023, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim carried out a cabinet reshuffle, including the establishment of a digital ministry.

The Digital Ministry was split from the Communications and Digital Ministry, which demonstrates the country's commitment to its digitalisation agenda, according to PM Anwar Ibrahim.

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