TVET empowers the population, country

KUALA LUMPUR: The technical and vocational training programme (TVET) introduced by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is capable of empowering the population and spur Malaysia's progress.
Such view earlier expressed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak was concurred to by Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.
He said TVET would provide highly skilled human capital and equip the youth for the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) labour market.
"To achieve success in high-impact projects such as MRT, east coast rail link (ECRL) and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail (HSR), we need local skilled workers.
"The prime minister himself said this transformation was crucial in providing about 1.5 million job opportunities that required TVET qualifications to meet the needs of the industry," the minister said in his blog.
He noted that the national Budget 2018 had set aside an allocation of RM4.9 billion to implement and empower TVET.
"What the prime minister encapsulated was apt and precise. Developed countries have a high number of students in the vocational and technical line,” Salleh said.
He cited Germany where 81% of the workforce comprised skilled manpower. Of that number, 63% were graduates of vocational colleges while only 18% were university graduates.
Germany, he added, had emerged as a wealthy and developed country, thanks to its highly skilled manpower produced through the TVET system.
Salleh also recapitulated the government’s five core thrusts in transforming TVET and empowering the people towards high-income status, of which the first thrust entailed training more teaching staff in TVET to a competitive level on par with global standard.
The second thrust is strengthening the strategic public-private partnership between TVET and the industry, while the third is about producing more graduates in TVET.
The fourth thrust is about implementing grant matching for which the government has allocated RM4.9 billion, and the fifth, rebranding of TVET institutions as ‘TVET Malaysia’ and promoting it as an educational choice that could guarantee a bright future.
"Let’s unite in raising TVET Malaysia to the top for the sake of our National Transformation 2050 (TN50) aspirations towards a developed and prosperous Malaysia,” said Salleh. — Bernama