SHAH ALAM: The Manpower Department aims to produce more skilled workers than its present 28%.
“We need to reach the target of 35% by 2020,“ said its director-general, Datuk Muhd Khair Razman Mohamed Annuar.
He believes they will be able to meet the target through their Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.
Muhd Khair said, currently they were in smart partnerships with private entities which conducts TVET programmes.
“Presently, there are 565 TVET public institutions under six ministries, while the private entities have over 600 institutions,“ he told theSun today after attending the Monfort Boys Town’s graduation ceremony.
“This is why the partnership with private TVET institutions is important. In order to produce a bigger percentage of skilled workers, it is vital for both private and public TVET institutions to work closely with us.
“Though TVET focuses on the technical, electronic, electrical, civil engineering, ICT, but we will diversify to hospitality courses soon, because it is a platform that nurtures the interest of the youth.
“In the long term, we want graduates to become entrepreneurs, where they can apply for funding from the skilled development corporate fund when they have undergone the programmes and obtained a certificate,“ he said.
He added that even after the graduates are working, they can upgrade their skills through the institutions recognised by the department.
“We have 32 institutions under the Manpower Department – the industrial training institutes, the Japan Technical Institute in Penang, and advanced technologies centres, which besides running full-time courses, also organise short courses to cater for working adults. Our institutions are open to 11pm.”
Muhd Khair said TVET graduates are equally competent as compared with other graduates from various colleges and universities.
