HRD Corp Celebrates Malaysia's High Achievers At The HRD Awards 2023

Achievers of all categories in the Human Resource Development Awards 2023 (HRD Awards 2023) were celebrated in a winner announcement and gala dinner organised by the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp), on 31 October 2023.

The event was graced by Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Plantation and Commodity Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof and Minister of Human Resources, Yang Berhormat Tuan V. Sivakumar and featured 44 winners across three categories, covering businesses, individuals, trainers and training providers.

First started in 2001, the HRD Awards was developed to celebrate excellence and innovation in the field of human resource development by recognising employers, training providers and trainers who have not only demonstrated professional excellence but have also emerged as architects of the country’s human capital transformation and innovation processes. 

Entering its third decade in celebrating excellence and innovation, the HRD Awards 2023 received an extraordinary response since its nomination invitation was released in August 2023. With the highest number of applications since its inception over 20 years ago, the HRD Awards 2023 saw even more exciting and competitive battles than ever before. 

Speaking at the Gala Dinner and Winner Announcement, Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah said, “Tonight’s HRD Awards 2023 Gala Dinner is a celebration of Malaysia’s progress in developing and empowering our workforce, one which is driven by remarkable employers and exemplary training providers, trainers and individuals. It is heartening to observe that, local organisations have worked hard in transforming their businesses and workforce to adapt to numerous changes, entered new markets, created new products and solutions, and turned the post COVID-19 era into an opportunity of a generation.” 

In the past, the Awards comprised of two major categories; the HR Minister Awards, and the HRD Corp Awards. This year, HRD Corp added one new category, the Excellence Awards to celebrate excellence in diversity and inclusion, future skill, graduate development, learning technology, sustainable development goals (SDGs), talent management and leadership, training innovation, TVET, HR Team of the Year and the coveted HR Icon of the Year for icons in the public and private sectors. No one walked away empty handed, as 37 finalists were also presented with the Certificates of Excellence to appreciate their submissions.

A Special Award was also presented to a Qatari philanthropist and entrepreneur with caudal regression syndrome, Ghanim Al Muftah, to acknowledge his empowering commitment and inspiration to the persons with disabilities (PWDs) communities around the world. Ghanim was present as part of his visit to Malaysia to speak at the National Human Capital Conference & Exhibition (NHCCE) 2023.  

Meanwhile, Yang Berhormat Tuan V. Sivakumar said, “The Awards are also a testament to HRD Corp's commitment to honouring and promoting excellence in the workplace by emphasising the importance of fostering a culture of learning, development and continuous improvement.” 

Some of the biggest winners of the night that won across a few categories included Maybank, Petronas, Pos Malaysia, Indah Water Consortium (IWK), Revertex Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd.

The winners in each category were judged by 14 distinguished panels of judges from a long list of award entry applications, which saw a 200% increase compared to the previous editions.

They were evaluated meticulously by a panel consisting of HRD Corp’s members of the senior leadership team and industry representatives from employer associations and government agencies. These included the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp), SIRIM Berhad, National Tech Association of Malaysia (PIKOM) and TalentCorp. 

In the same event, the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) also declared the NHCCE 2023 as the largest-ever human capital event in Malaysia based on the total number of delegates and exhibitors. 

For a whole list of all award recipients and more information about the HRD Awards 2023, please visit https://hrdcorp.gov.my/hrdawards2023.  

This article is provided by HRD Corp

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.