This conference is organized by the Centre for Human Resource Studies (CHREST) of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from January 8 to January 9, 2013. The deadline for paper submission is November 30, 2012.

Main theme

The theme "Labour Market Transformation and Human Resource Development" describes both the changing labour market dynamics, as well as the new imperatives in requirements and approaches toward human resource development. On the global front, the current economic debacle in the Euro zone is posing a new threat to the world economy already battered by the 2008-2009 economic crises, which brought about a sea change in competition among global players with repercussions, among others, to the labour markets. In Malaysia, the changing labour market dynamics reflects the country's economic transformation amid this challenging and globalized world. More so with the policy initiative under the new economic model (NEM), namely, the economic transformation programmes (ETP), the Malaysian labour market is expected to transform further towards that requiring more knowledge and skills. In order to avoid skill shortages and mismatch, and to equip the country in its journey towards a high-income developed economy, it is imperative that new labour requirements and trainings be identified through a comprehensive and dynamic human resource planning and development. As no economy can succeed without a highly skilled talent base that is able to respond proactively and creatively to economic changes, it is instructive to develop, attract and retain a first-world talent base. This strategy calls for an integrated human capital and talent development framework. Labour market transformation also requires changes both in the institutional set up as well the legal aspects in order to make labour market more flexible. This will upgrade the skills and capabilities of existing workforce, and to enhance the country's ability to attract and retain top talent. More recently, aspects of decent work together with fairness to both employers and employees, and harmonious industrial relations are gaining worldwide recognition as among the most important elements in a well-functioning labour market. The CHREST International Conference on Labour Market Transformation and Human Resource Development is very timely as it provides a platform for discussions on emerging labour market issues and strategies for an integrated, comprehensive human resource development. In addition, this conference opens up opportunities for knowledge and experience sharing by participants from various countries as well as for forging networking and research collaborations at the national and international levels.

Sub-themes

The sub-themes include:

• Human resource development
• Human resource management
• Human resource planning
• Human capital investment
• Skills requirement
• Education and training
• Talent management
• Learning and innovation
• Employment and unemployment
• Mobility and migration
• Wage system and productivity
• Industrial relations
• Security and occupational safety
• Decent work
• Ethics and spirituality
• Government roles
• Other related topics

Publication

All conference papers will be published in the CHREST conference proceedings. The committee will select good papers to be published in the Malaysian Journal of Economics and Management Journal, which are SCOPUS - indexed.