Tengku Nurul Azian Tengku Shahriman

 

Malaysians have been fortunate to receive easy access to education at all levels. Yet the issue of graduate employability continues to be a concern as we strive to become a high-income economy by 2020. 

 

To this end, the Ministry of Education (MoE), as urged by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is actively encouraging students to consider Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) as an alternative to the traditional route towards university. In support of this, the Ministry is in the midst of transforming vocational schools into vocational colleges, enabling students to receive a Diploma in TVET at the end of their study. 

 

The idea behind this is to attract students who are more inclined towards hands-on experience, enabling them to learn valuable and marketable skills should they opt out of mainstream academic pathways. Many students have career aspirations for which the field of study is limited or not available at universities in Malaysia, or believe that growth in these areas are restricted.  Vocational colleges, which provide training in a wide variety of fields, allow students not only to pursue their dreams, but also secure employment and achieve career progression. 

 

Crucially, as part of the Vocational Education Transformation Programme which has been undertaken for the past two years, the MoE has created this alternative pathway for students early on, allowing students to join the TVET stream at the lower secondary level. In this way, even children who do not do well in school can still aim for a lucrative career in ICT, oil and gas, biotechnology and a host of other industries without missing a beat. 

 

While many Malaysians still see a university education as the only way to get a job and become successful, on the contrary, the country is in need of highly-skilled workers trained in specialised fields. This is underscored by the 3.3 million jobs to be generated through the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), of which almost half comprise skills-based jobs. 

 

From the establishment of the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex in Johor led by Petronas, the construction of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail connection and the development of Temasek Holdings’ technology park and business process outsourcing hub in Penang, the opportunities for skilled employment are immense. 

 

 

This implies that instead of pursuing university where employment prospects remain questionable, TVET students will find themselves increasingly sought-after as Malaysia develops into a high-income economy. At the same time, this will provide an avenue for us to overcome the challenge of graduate employability.

 

With TVET able to address existing gaps in employment, it is also important for the private sector to play a greater role in the development of vocational colleges. Some vocational colleges remain under-resourced, and could benefit from the private sector’s contributions in terms of curriculum development, equipment and training. 

 

The private sector should also consider tying up with vocational institutions which are located near their industry hubs, helping to increase the relevance of what students are learning while creating a talent pipeline for private sector companies. The public-private sector collaboration that has materialised under the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC) is one example of how private sector participation can catalyse the development of vocational training. 

 

On its part, the government has also launched the http://www.iwant2b.my/ portal which helps students interest in TVET to map out suitable pathways towards the occupation of their choice. 

 

The development of a productive and skilled workforce is imperative for us to realise our goal of becoming a high-income nation, as this will enable employees to attract higher wages. Increasingly, this can only be achieved if we have the right mix of university and TVET graduates who are skilled in their fields.