Axon Makes Malaysia Its HR Hub                                                             07/11/2005
CompuTimes, New Straits Times

AXON is making the country its regional human resource hub to serve international clients, ranging from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to multinationals, and in the process help Malaysia increase the number of its skilled workers.

Its chief operating officer Stephen Cardell said, “We are working closely with the Government through Multimedia Development Corp and other institutions of higher learning to enhance the skills of knowledge workers.”

He believes that Axon’s partnerships with large information and communications technology (ICT) players to develop more skilled workers here can help Malaysia in its drive to become a preferred destination for outsourcing and shared services.

In 2004, Malaysia was the third most attractive destination for shared services and outsourcing activities after India and China.

According to Gartner, demand for ICT services in Malaysia will continue to grow rapidly over the next five years at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of eight per cent, driven by a growing interest in outsourcing and large development and integration projects particularly within the financial services and government sectors.

Moreover, a study by Deloitte Consulting on outsourcing locations in Asia-Pacific has placed Kuala Lumpur as a favourite spot for locating offshore shared service operations.

alaysia is also expected to supply over 100,000 workers with a high percentage in research, engineering and ICT, increasing the ratio of researchers and engineers five-fold by 2010 from 15 for every 10,000 workers now, to 75 for every 10,000 workers in 2010.

There are now more than 600 private and public universities and colleges, Smart School programmes for the primary and secondary levels as well as close to a million foreign-educated Malaysians in the workforce.

In 2005, the country is estimated to produce 93,000 graduates in the ICT, engineering and multimedia disciplines alone.

Recently, Axon entered into an exclusive education partnership with SAP to provide NetWeaver/ABAP training, which will see Axon perform a critical role in strengthening the local ICT workforce.

The company will produce more skilled technology workers in SAP NetWeaver, a software program that eases software integration between SAP and non-SAP systems, linking business processes and databases so as to bring down costs while enhancing risk management.

ince 2004, Axon Malaysia has grown from 20 employees to a current count of more than 175, representing 20 per cent of its global workforce. Some of its global clients include Xerox, TfL, Britvic, BP, Yell, Manchester City Council, AA, Pratt & Whitney as well as Hitachi and e-Genting in Malaysia and Novartis in China.