Kuala Lumpur - Only 28 percent of the 12 million work force in Malaysia are highly skilled, a government official said here Monday.

Deputy Human Resource Minister Ismail Abdul Mutalib told reporters that the Human Resource Ministry would cooperate actively with the Education Ministry and the private sector to achieve the target of 50 percent of the work force comprising highly skilled workers by the year 2020.

Speaking at the 2nd International Skills Conference 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, he said strategic cooperation with the private sector was also important in efforts to transfer technology and expertise from abroad to churn out skilled work force among the locals.

"We will increase forums at the international level such as the one today where the local delegates who were present had vast opportunities to exchange ideas with the developed nations such as Australia and the United Kingdom," he said.