Three papers could drive TVET implementation nationally, says Noraini

PETALING JAYA: Three important papers could become policies that drive Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) implementation on a national scale.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said the papers - titled TVET Collaboration Hub: A New Narrative of Synergistic Collaboration for the TVET Empowerment Agenda; Industry Driven TVET Empowerment Agenda through the Establishment of an Industrial-Government TVET Coordinating Body; and Single Rating TVET programme - will become policies if they are approved during the TVET Council Executive Committee Meeting (MTVET) with Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

Noraini, who co-chaired the MTVET meeting on June 29 alongside Saravanan, said these papers were presented by representatives of the Group Focus and National Skills Development Council.

“A meeting from the papers’ approval by MTVET is scheduled to be held in November.

“If we look at the Graduate Tracking Study Report, we will see that polytechnic graduates have always been sought after by employers.

“This is evident when their rate of marketability over the last five years is more than 90%.

“In 2018, polytechnic graduates’ recorded a marketability rate of 96.1% while in 2019, it was 96.7%.

“Even though there was a slight dip in 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, their rate of marketability still surpassed the national record, which is 91.2%.

“Therefore, to ensure the polytechnic curriculum remains relevant to the latest technological developments, active engagement with the industry is needed so that the curriculum that is developed is an industry-driven curriculum,” she said during a roundtable advisory council meeting on Thursday (Oct 28).

She said there are several industry-led based learning that have been carried out, one of which is the Structured Internship Programme (SIP).

The SIP, Noraini said, is a collaborative initiative with industry that is expanded through a talent enhancement programme where 21 industry players offered SIPs to 2,188 final year students to undergo industrial training.

They were subsequently offered job placements by the companies that included Maybank, TalentCorp Malaysia, and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.