More than 60% of jobs require TVET by 2020

SERIAN: The government is targeting to create about 1.5 million new jobs by 2020, with 60% of them requiring those with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), said Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem.
This, he said, made TVET an important platform to enhance the skills of the Malaysian workforce, with 35% of the skilled workers to be produced by 2020.
To this end, he said, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had emphasised the need to elevate TVET to a mainstream education standard and with that, appointed the ministry as coordinator of TVET Malaysia.
"TVET is now seen as among the competitive field," he told a media conference after officiating the ground-breaking ceremony for the Serian Industrial Training Institute (ILPS), here today.
He said diverse employment opportunities awaited TVET graduates, as well as the possibility to venture into business and become digital technopreneurs.
According to Riot, currently 28% of the Malaysian workforce were highly-skilled, and efforts would be made to increase it to 35% in 2020.
He advised students to undertake skills training to make it easier for them to obtain jobs.
On the Serian ILP Serian project, Riot said it would be built on a 56.76 acre site in Kampung Tenggak, Serian, and cost RM300 million.
Construction work on the project would begin in May this year and is expected to be completed in 33 months, he said.
Riot said the ILP in Serian was scheduled to be in operation in 2021 and would accommodate 600 trainees at a time.
The Serian ILP will be the fourth in Sarawak, following those in Miri, Kota Samarahan and Bintulu. — Bernama