The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s (the Centre) team are ready to welcome and serve clients and organisers, delegates, guests, and visitors at the Centre, in the wake of the re-opening of Malaysia’s business events industry started from 5 March 2021 onwards.

Over the course of 6 months throughout 2020, the Centre conducted a training exercise to cross- and up-skill its entire workforce, a 200-(wo)men team, in various aspects of front- and back-end servicing of events and building operations as part of its business recovery and resumption plan.

The training, by in-house subject matter experts, involved classroom sessions and hands-on and role-play exercises to build awareness and familiarise the team on how to support some of the key areas of the Centre’s event operations namely kitchen, stewarding, security and safety, health and environment (SHE). The entire staff was also given Typhoid jabs and HALAL awareness training in compliance with the international industry and Malaysia’s food safety standards.

The Centre’s Director of Human Resources, Muhammad Vickneswaran said that “We are currently at the forefront of major industry transformation, mostly escalated due to Covid-19 but kick-started by the changing world of work and Industrial Revolution 4.0. As the market leader of Malaysia’s business events industry, a strong pillar in our organisational management is talent and professional development, not only within our organisation but also for the industry. Having the right expertise and talent is as important as acquiring all the advanced technological prowess, to leverage and reap the maximum potential that physical and virtual infrastructure offer. With completion of our thorough training programme, our team are now market-ready to assist and guide our clients towards the right solutions for the successful execution of events and creating a memorable experience for delegates, in the new norm.”

The Centre’s team are now excited to welcome their first major and a recurrent event, Malaysia International Renovation + Home Interior Design Exhibition 2021, from 19 – 21 March 2021.

The Centre’s Head of Exhibition Sales, Kelvin Chai, shared that, “During the several months of re-opening last year, I assisted in few areas including stewarding, security and our food court. Overall it was a fantastic experience for me as it not only exposed me to the other side of our organisational operations, from the heavy-lifting to the nitty-gritty details but also taught me to appreciate my fellow team members who have been tirelessly doing their part despite the highly physically challenging and demanding work environment. I believe this new exposure truly enriches my current role and I will be able to serve our clients better with the understanding of the different levels of operations and services that involved in providing an excellent customer journey.”

The Centre also adopted internal transfers of team members to meet departmental gaps in order to ensure a smooth and continuous end-to-end management and execution of processes and tasks whilst providing new and enriching work experience for its staff.

Muhammad Marwan bin Zakaria, a newly-minted Marketing Executive, shared that, “I was in the Human Resources department for 7 years before I joined the Marketing and Communications (MARCOM) team. I am currently primarily involved in digital marketing in terms of data tracking and analysis as well as assisting in content creation and community management. I believe that with strong passion and drive, everyone can do everything, making versatility a strength. Joining MARCOM was such an opportunity for me to develop new skills and expand my career path. It is a competitive market for employees out there therefore it is important for us to keep developing and progressing ourselves professionally for future growth in an evolving world.”

One of the Centre’s initial cost-cutting measures was to halt all part-time employment, renewal of contracts, and manpower support from external suppliers due to major reduction in events which spurred the skills development of all permanent management and administrative staff.