CIDB to increase IBS training to cap foreign labour dependency

KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) plans to increase training for the use of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) to cap the country’s foreign labour dependency at 15% by 2020.

To encourage the use of the system, users will be given discounts and levy exemptions, said CIBD senior general manager Sariah Abdul Karib.

The CIDB will ensure that the training provided will be for the skills most required by the industry, she said at a press conference on the International Construction Week (ICW).

The event will take place from Sept 9 to 11 at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

ICW is an annual event for the construction industry in Southeast Asia organised by CIDB in collaboration with United Business Media (M) Sdn Bhd (UBM) and the Ministry of Works.

Its 15th edition this year is themed “Building a Greener Future” and is expected to attract over 15,000 visitors.

According to UBM chairman Tan Sri Ahmad Mustaffa Babjee, ICW is important because it shows the industry that it is imperative to implement sustainable building standards. He added that the industry has a moral obligation to build responsibly.

“Make sure the world is a better place, a liveable place, particularly for the poor. Some of the apartments and buildings [made] for poor people are not very practical anymore.

“We have created an urban ecosystem and we should make it work. And to make it work we need to look at nature. There’s a need for much deeper thinking and a holistic approach to [development],” he said.

Director of business development for UBM Asean Elaine van Doorn says ICW is a platform for regional firms to network with peers from countries such as Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, the UK, Germany and Portugal.

“We are trying not only to create an exhibition for commercial purposes but also a networking platform for people to learn [best practices from one another],” she said.

ICW will feature 300 exhibitors from 24 countries. It is expected to attract architects, building consultants, contractors, developers, engineers, factory owners, quantity surveyors, financiers, policymakers and professionals from related industries.

There will be seminars covering key topics such as sustainable water resources development, challenges for sustainability in Malaysia and energy management for buildings, among others.

Master Builders Association Malaysia vice-president Chuan Yeong Ming also announced the first Asean Construction Summit that will be held in conjunction with ICW.

“We will bring speakers from various Asean countries to Malaysia to [share] what they have been doing [for] sustainability,” he said.

This article first appeared in The Edge Property pullout, on June 12, 2015.