Vocational college graduates have high marketibility: Mahdzir Khalid

KUALA LUMPUR: About 90% of the 2,273 vocational college (VC) students of the first group who graduated last year have landed jobs in the area of their skills, a proof that they have high marketability and industry recognition.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said for the second group, 41.74% of the 12,997 VC students had been offered employment despite the fact that they have yet to attend their convocation.
"This shows that VC students have the skills and are recognised by the industry," he said in his reply to a question from Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim (BN-Baling) who wanted to know about VC graduates' marketability and VC diploma recognition status at the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said the diploma programmes offered by VCs would receive the accreditation from the Malaysian Qualifications Board (MQA) by the end of this year.
He said that MQA had already completed the verification of full accreditation of diploma programmes in 15 VCs nationwide that offered 16 different courses.
Mahdzir said the ministry intended to have an intensive discussion with the Ministry of Higher Education to enable VC diploma graduates to pursue their education at the university level.
He said MQA had also provided two routes for VC diploma graduates to pursue a degree programme at the public universities namely through the direct route and through the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL). — Bernama