Organizational Training and Empowerment in the Malaysian Volunteer Department (RELA): A Review- Study

HRMARS - This study will explore empowerment in the Malaysian Volunteer Department (RELA) with the focus on Organisational Training in the context of Volunteer-based Security Organisations. With the continually evolving security situation in Malaysia, RELA has an important supporting role in community-based security, public order and preparedness. Empowerment as a topic in volunteer security organizations, however, is still not fully understood, especially in terms of the role of training on members' competence, confidence, role identity, agency and participation. The literature review aimed to give an understanding of the definitions and concepts of empowerment, volunteerism, organizational training, competency and security management by reviewing the literature on these topics. The study takes a qualitative and interpretive approach guided by Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT) and views empowerment as a process, not as an organization. As demonstrated in the discussion, organizational training simultaneously serves as a formal means of skill transfer, a site of meaning-making, recognition, sensemaking, identity formation, and readiness for action. The study makes contribution to the theories and practices of empowerment studies in volunteer-based security organizations in Malaysia.