FOR too long, we have been somewhat dependent on foreign                                                                                              
expertise for organisational development. Various consultancy                                                                                         
groups have assisted Malaysian companies to build, restructure                                                                                        
and re-engineer their organisations as well as to train and                                                                                           
develop their human resource.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
While foreign intervention has been hLIlpful, a parallel                                                                                              
development has been taking place. Knowledgeable Malaysians                                                                                           
have become experts in their chosen fields, have built up a                                                                                           
credible record of contributions, and can match the skills of                                                                                         
foreign consultants.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Their drawback is' that they are only recognised -within the                                                                                          
country. And they will continue to be limited by the lack of                                                                                          
international exposure if nothing is done.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Malaysia can contribute to the development of other countries                                                                                         
through the export of its own experts, beginning with human                                                                                           
resource exponents.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
As a first step, a hundred of our best trainers will soon be                                                                                          
selected and trained as "master trainers" before they are sent                                                                              
overseas. They will be the pioneers to the reverse flow of                                                                                            
consultants to serve the needs of other countries.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
This was the decision reached by the Consultative Panel for                                                                                           
Human Resource Development at its meeting recently.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Malaysia's successful economic development has attracted the                                                                                          
attention of countries particularly in the grouping of the                                                                                            
South. They are looking to Malaysia as the model for their own                                                                                        
economic planning. ,                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Malaysia's response thus far has been ad hoc. Efforts to                                                                                              
coordinate requests from these countries have been hampered by                                                                                        
a lack of information on the availability of trained personnel                                                                                        
and the type of expertise we have to offer.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
There is no centralised datacollection. Databases only exist                                                                                          
in scattered locations. The situation in privatetraining                                                                                              
institutions, apart from government ministries and agencies,                                                                                          
has fared no better.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Before any training programmes can get under way, several                                                                                             
issues under way, several issues that must be settled. Of                                                                                             
importance is setting the criteria to be applied to identify                                                                                          
somebody as a master trainer.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Next is the process of certifying a master trainer and by                                                                                             
which authority. The-practice, especially with the advent of                                                                                          
the Internet, has been that anybody could claim to be a master                                                                                        
trainer. In fact, information on such persons is readily                                                                                              
available now.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
To address these problems, a prominent training institution                                                                                           
has agreed to act as the centre to compile a directory for use                                                                                        
by all institutions in the human resources field. The format                                                                                          
has also been standardised.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Foreign clients can now get this information through the Net.                                                                                         
The database is linked to other related sites both within and                                                                                         
outside the country. Eventually, this site and other related                                                                                          
sites can comprise the socalled Knowledge Bank.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
As to the criteria needed to ensure that only the best get                                                                                            
selected, the panel has identified several major competencies                                                                                         
' apart from technical expertise, that such a trainer must                                                                                            
possess.  These include adult learning awareness and                                                                                                  
understanding; facilitation skills; presentation skills; group                                                                                        
process skills; social interpersonal skills; and counselling                                                                                          
skills.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
On the operational side, they need to be skilled in                                                                                                   
management, research, records keeping, course -evaluation,                                                                                            
training needs analysis and performance evaluation. Finally,                                                                                          
the trainer is also required to adhere to a Code of Ethics for                                                                                        
Trainers.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Time and money is needed for someone to be really trained as a                                                                                        
master trainer. No individual can be expected to achieve                                                                                              
excellence in all the skill areas. At best, each can become                                                                                           
expert in his own area of interest. Perhaps then the emphasis                                                                                         
should be on developing defivery skills above anything else.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Another critical problem is the need for a body to be                                                                                                 
established to licence the person as meeting the criteria as a                                                                                        
master, trainer.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
This entity can be given the authority to certify the master                                                                                          
trainer for servic abroad. This will be a big step forward in                                                                                         
regulating the HR profession.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Having set the criteria and established the certifying body                                                                                           
,the training programme proper can then be designed. The panel                                                                                        
is looking to the malaysian Institute of management(MIM)to                                                                                            
take the lead.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
What could be more effective is for the relevent institutions                                                                                         
to pool their Resources . MIM does not have a monopoly on HR                                                                                          
trainers. The human resources                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Ministry, the malaysian society for training and development,                                                                                         
as well as the malaysian institute for human resource                                                                                                 
management can all get into the act .  It was also rightly                                                                                            
observed that the involvement of the private sector should Be                                                                                         
encouraged. Dialogue must be carried out between the                                                                                                  
government and private Sector.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Generally, many felt that the idea of exporting our HR                                                                                                
personnel is an achievable one.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
To get there, however, malaysians have to benchmark against                                                                                           
other in order To know where we stand in the development of HR                                                                                        
internationally. We must project The image of world-class HR                                                                                          
talent that could be marketed abroad.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
As one of the panel members remarked, a quantum leap in human                                                                                         
resource development of the nature outlined earlier can only                                                                                          
be achieved if individuals And organisations come together and                                                                                        
use the opportunities to create synergy and Thereby obtain the                                                                                        
critical mass to move the ideas forward.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
We already have numerous malaysian managers working overseas.                                                                                         
It is only a natural extension that they be followed by                                                                                               
Malaysian consultants.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Our managers overseas have performed very well; there is                                                                                              
therefore every reason and expectation that our consultants                                                                                           
will also be able to contribute effectively in the overseas                                                                                           
market.