Japan's Sankyu Inc. will open its first overseas human resources training center in Malaysia in 2022 to meet growing manpower demand for plant engineering and facility maintenance in Asian countries.

The Tokyo-based company held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for the Sankyu Technical Academy in Iskandar Puteri in the southern state of Johor via a video conference due to coronavirus regulations, according to the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

Behind the move to go overseas is a manpower shortage in Japan for facility-related operations at a time when requests for plant construction in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are increasing, a Sankyu official in Tokyo told NNA on Monday.

Sankyu plans to accept 3,000 people a year at the new academy -- mainly employees of Sankyu group companies and partner firms in Malaysia and other Asian countries such as the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Training will cover a wide range of fields including safety education, designing, welding, electrical work and management, the official said. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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