LinkedIn: Petronas, PNB and TNB among the top 15 best companies to develop career

by TMR / pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL

PETRONAS, Permodalan Nasional Berhad and Tenaga Nasional are amongst the top 15 best workplaces to develop professionally and grow your career, said LinkedIn in a statement today.

The world’s largest professional network, announced the 2021 LinkedIn Top Companies list in Malaysia, an annual guide that identifies the best places for professionals to grow their careers.

Many of these companies on the list are currently hiring, with more than 45,000 roles available in Malaysia right now. This is the first time the list is being published in Malaysia.

Topping the Malaysia list this year are PETRONAS (1) and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (2), joined by Tenaga Nasional (3), AIA (4) and Telekom Malaysia (5).

The rest of the list is dominated by companies whose products and services helped make people’s lives better during the pandemic — from banking, accounting, financial services to telecommunications sectors.

All of the companies are investing in employee success, career development, and equity and inclusion, to ensure they continue to be among the best workplaces for employee growth as they embark upon a post-pandemic world.

“The past year has presented extraordinary challenges for so many around the world and our Top Companies methodology reflects these realities. This helped us surface companies who are investing in employee growth, as we navigate a world of work that’s forever changed by the global pandemic.

“We found the best companies that have put their employees first by implementing various policies around well-being and mental health, and helped them get back on their feet, through training and development programmes. For those who are looking for the next role, many of the companies on this list are hiring, with more than 45,000 open roles,” said Chris Anderson, Senior News Editor, APAC, at LinkedIn.

Many of the Top Companies have made commitments and launched programmes to develop employees’ skills to meet current and future job requirements.

Recognising that digital skills are crucial in the future economy, OCBC (8) is training and developing the digital skills of all its employees globally under the OCBC Future Smart Programme, while PwC (9) has digital and soft skills initiatives to help employees remain relevant as their roles evolve.

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (2) makes it mandatory for all employees to complete 64 hours of training a year, to increase competencies and develop high skills to meet current and future demands.

“While experience and education are important when it comes to hiring, there is an increasing emphasis on talent with the relevant skills to fit new and emerging jobs such as in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data and Security.

“Some of these roles did not exist in the past decade or are evolving at an unprecedented rate which demands upskilling and reskilling every one to two years,” said Eric Chan, Vice President and General Manager of Internet of Things Group (IOTG) Customer Engineering, Intel.

He added, despite the pandemic, Intel continues to invest in online learning platforms including Linkedin Learning and Intel Learning Network, which makes learning skills accessible to anyone, anywhere. We’ve moved from face-to-face training to virtual learning to enable employees upskill or re skill while working from home (WFH),”

In Malaysia, companies in banking, accounting and financial services dominate the list.

The presence of three banks in the Top 10 – Maybank (7), OCBC Bank (8) and Standard Chartered Bank (10) – reflects the strength of the banking sector in the country, which has proven to be resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the accounting and financial services industries being represented by two companies, employers in the finance-related sector continue to be the workplaces of choice for professionals in the country.

Overall, companies are ahead of the game when it comes to supporting their talent pool, with programmes for flexible work arrangements and employee wellbeing, among others. Standard Chartered enables flexibility for employers to work away from office even before the pandemic.

Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) also featured prominently in the list, with three GLCs and one Government-Linked Investment Company (GLIC) ranked in the top 5: PETRONAS (1), Permodalan Nasional Berhad (2), Tenaga Nasional Berhad (3) and Telekom Malaysia (5). With Maybank (#) and telecommunications company Axiata (12) completing the list of six GLCs, these local titans continue to attract talent across different roles and jobs, in industries as diverse as Oil & Gas (PETRONAS), Utilities (Tenaga Nasional) and Telecommunications (Telekom Malaysia and Axiata).

Here are the companies on the 2021 Malaysia Top Companies list: