The policy on the employment of Foreign Workers (FW), was first implemented by the Government of Malaysia in 1992 to overcome the problem of labour shortage faced by many employers in the plantation, construction, manufacturing and service sectors of the economy. Since then, millions of FWs have been coming to work in this country. Today more than 1.91 million FWs are employed in various capacities in the sectors mentioned earlier. More than two thirds of these FWs come from ASEAN countries, except Singapore and Brunei, while most of the rest from the South Asian countries of Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The employment of FWs has contributed positively towards economic growth in Malaysia. However, it has also led to the emergence of various socio-economic, security and labour problems that Malaysia has to grapple with. The attitude and behavior of some of the foreign workers have had a negative impact on the prevailing harmonious and stable and labour relations in the country. Among the factors identified as contributing to the problems are lack of basic command of local language, lack of awareness about local cultures, customs and practices, and lack of understanding of basic rules and regulations of employment. To address these problems, the Government of Malaysia has decided that from 1 November 2005, every FW intending to work in Malaysia must undergo and complete an Induction Course to obtain the Certificate of Eligibility (CE) before they are issued with employment visas by the Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) to work in this country. This guideline serves to explain the responsibilities, functions and also the inter-relationship between the parties involved in the implementation of the induction course. These include:-      - The Department of Skill Development (JPK) under the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia (MOHR).      - The Government of Source Country (GSC).      - Approved Training Centre (TCs) in the Source Country.      - Induction Course Coordinators (ICCs).      - The FWs Themselves.

The main purpose of the induction course is to make the FWs familiar with, aware of and understand the various customs, culture and social situations prevailing in Malaysia. In this way it will help prevent the FWs from committing any act that will breach national laws and regulations i.e. the Penal Code, labour legislations and Immigration Act. It will also help in the maintenance of industrial and social peace already prevailing in the country. The induction course, that follows the syllabus and course content developed by the JPK, will be conducted in the source country by training centres (TCs) identified by the Government of Source Country (GSC) in collaboration and cooperation with the Induction Course Coordinators (ICC) approved by MOHR. The JPK is responsible for the overall supervision of the induction course and this include monitoring and assessing the performance of the approved TCs,ICCs to collaborate with TCs and training of trainers programmes  in the source country. The ICCs will also administer and certify as well as issue the CE to the successful FWs on behalf of JPK. The CE constitutes one of the important documents that the FW must have before he/she can be issued with a calling visa to enter and work in Malaysia.

The course syllabus and content will focus on the following three main areas:-      - Workplace Communication in English or Malaysia.      - Introduction to Malaysian Custom, Culture and Religion Beliefs and Practices.      - Awareness of Malaysia Law and Regulation. Including Procedures for Claims Disputes under Existing Labour Laws. The assessment of the FWs who have undergone the induction course and the issuance of CE will be undertaken by JPK, or any authorized ICC on its behalf, at the end of the course.

The main parties involved in the implementation are : Department of skills Development (JPK):- The department under the Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia (MOHR), responsible for the overall supervision of the induction course and the issuance of Certificate of Eligibility (CE) to the successful Foreign Workers (FWs).  Induction Course Coordinator (ICC) in Source Country: - Any agency/organisation selected and appointed by GSC to conduct induction course and undertake the assessment verification for the purpose of issuance of CE in collaboration with TC.  Approved Training Centre (TC) in Source Country :- Any training organisation/provider selected and appointed by GSC to conduct induction course for FWs. Foreign Worker (FW): -  Any worker from a source country intending to work in Malaysia.

In order to implement the induction course, the Government of Source Country (GSC) is responsible to identify and approve the list of TCs to undertake the training  in their respective country. Among the suggested criteria to be used in the selection and appointment of the TC are as follow:-      - Must be registered with the authority in the source country.      - Has the capacity to carry out the course as per syllabus developed by the JPK.      - Possesses an adequate number of trainers who are trained to conduct the induction course.      - Has the physical facility and equipment to train a sizeable number of FWs at any one time. The GSC shall submit the list of approved TCs to the MOHR through the Malaysian Mission in the source country. Upon receiving the list, the MOHR, if necessary, will scrutinise and evaluate the TCs before approving them to undertake the training of FWs. The duties and responsibilities of the TCs pertaining to the induction course are as follows:-      - To collaborate with ICCs to undertake training.      - To arrange for training of trainers by ICC.      - To manage and conduct training for FWs.      - To collect USD10.00 from each FW as registration and certification fees on behalf of JPK.      - To maintain the quality and authenticity of training.

The GSC is responsible to identify and appoint an agency to become an ICC. The duties and responsibilities of ICCs are as follows:- - To collaborate with TC to conduct induction course and / or train-the-trainers course, and to inform MOHR of the TC collaborated with; - To conduct assessment on FWs; - To issue CEs toFWs on behalf of JPK; - To prepare report and provide informationm on assessments undertaken for submission to JPK; - To collect the USD10.00 collected by TCs from each FW as registration and certification fee on behalf of JPK and submit such fees along with the report to JPK.

MOHR - Ministry of Human Resources.      JPK - Department of Skill Development.       ICC - Induction Course Coordinator(s).      TC - Tranning Centre(s).      GSC - Goverment of Source Country.

* Source Derived From "GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INDUCTION COURSE AND ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY TO FOREIGN WORKERS INTENDING TO WORK MALAYSIA" by Ministry of Human Resources (KSM/FW/01(P3)) OCTOBER 2005.