Technology Transfer, Labour and Local Learning Processes in Malaysian Industry

The transfer of technologies by the foreign electronic industries operating in Malaysia involves training of workers for various purposes. The upgrading of skills to assimilate the transferred technology aims at increasing productivity and product quality. Communicating awareness about work hazards is meant to reduce breakdowns in production and workers' accidents.

How do the training paradigms, which transnationals introduce in their subsidiaries in Malaysia, interact with the preconditions of learning with the local labour force? In shaping local learning processes, what is the scope for workers and trade unions to articulate their interests and define the issues, in particular with regard to the working environment and the external environment? The paper will discuss these questions by exploring the significance of labour market structures, labour-management relations, concepts of knowledge in training, and learning cultures.