The PSDC (Penang Skills Development Centre) is the first skills industry-led training centre to be set up in Malaysia. Located within the Free Industrial Zones of Penang, Malaysia, the centre invites membership from the manufacturing industry and its tremendous success since 1989 is linked to the vitality of our corporate members who rank among some of the world's most admired corporations.

The PSDC's tripartite model brings together the best of the Industry, Academia, and Government. This unique paradigm pools resources and management expertise, and allows the PSDC to provide invaluable advice and guidance on the latest industrial technological progress, along with up-to-date training and educational programs.

The Centre operates as a non-profit society with its mission to pool resources amongst the 4 Free Trade Zones and 4 Industrial Estates in Penang with a total of 775 factories, employing more than 170,000 workers providing up-to-date training and educational programs in support of operational requirements, as well as to keep abreast of technological progress.

“This (PSDC) is a good example of Malaysia Inc. concept at work" Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia
NSTP July 20, 1994 - PSDC Opening Ceremony

Since then, all other states in Malaysia used the PSDC Concept to set up their own skills centre. To date, there are 11 skills development centre out of 13 states in Malaysia, with PSDC being the first to set up.

"The PSDC is unique in Malaysia (though other states are moving in to emulate) not just because it trains shop-floor workers as technicians and engineers but also because competing companies pool their resources to fund it."
Far Eastern Economic Review Jan 1994

The PSDC was conceptualized out of urgency that for Penang to continue to attract multinationals, its human capital must be trained to keep pace with changes in technology.  This was highlighted during a seminar organized by the American Business Council in September 1987.

Under the leadership of our then, Chief Minister, Tun Lim Chong Eu, the Penang State Government and its industrial development arm, the Penang Development Corporation (PDC), pave the way by initiating a series of meetings with CEOs of major multinationals (MNCs).

After which PDC, with the CEOs of Motorola, Intel and Hewlett-Packard formed a Steering Committee to set up a skills center.  Then the ball was passed on to a group of Training and HR Managers who formed a Working Committee who eventually developed a concept paper that launched the PSDC.

Finally on April 21, 1989, a Protem Management Council was set up and by May 3, the Management Council held its inaugural meeting. They would later garner the support of 24 companies who pledged as PSDC's Founder Members.

Today, we are acknowledged as the State's vehicle for human resources development.  Centrally located between the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zones, its strategic location further enhances its value as it is easily accessible to the workforce.

As a testimony of our success, similar centers can today be found in almost every state of Malaysia and benchmarking visits from government delegations of countries such as China, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Kyrgyzstan and Mauritius are quite common.

In addition, PSDC is now known to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, ILO, USAid, UNCTAD and UNIDO.  In 1996, in a study funded by USAid, the PSDC was selected as one of the 10 recognised Best Workforce Development Institutions in the World.

NON-PROFIT SOCIETY
The PSDC was registered as a non-profit society under Section 7 of the Societies Act 1966 on November 16, 1989.

PSDC SDN. BHD.
Since 1995, PSDC has been registered as an Institution of Higher Learning under the Education Act 1961 to conduct the certificate and diploma programs. In 1996, the Ministry of Education has introduced a new Higher Private Education Institutions Act 1996 and PSDC Sdn Bhd was incorporated on 14 Feb 2000 in order to meet the requirements of this Act in the running of its BTEC Higher National Diploma in Engineering program.