SHAH ALAM: The government will lay out RM36.41mil to sponsor 1,000 students from the B40 category pursuing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) .
The initiative comes under the newly-formulated Program Dermasiswa B40 TVET.
In announcing this yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaacob said: “I am certain this programme will offer Malaysian families – especially those from the B40 category – more access to education at a higher level to build careers with TVET,” he added.
In his National TVET Week 2022 speech at Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, the Prime Minister also said the government had various programmes to provide a wide range of educational opportunities, including sponsorship programmes.
“Several sponsorship strategies have been implemented such as study loans, convertible loans, sponsorship, scholarship and financial aid,” he added.
According to Ismail Sabri, the government’s commitment to TVET was underlined by the fact that 80% of public TVET providers offered free programmes, with costs borne by the federal administration.
“From 2019-2021 a total of 171,412 TVET programmes at a diploma and undergraduate level were offered,” he added.
Public awareness of jobs in the TVET sector, which required specific skills and offered high income, has increased but still needs to reach the target level, he admitted.
He added that to strengthen TVET, branding and reputation must be more specific and holistic.
Given this, Ismail Sabri said there must be a paradigm shift to improve the perception of TVET with support from parents, the youth and industries.
“There are many social media platforms that can be used to promote TVET, such as highlighting the success of TVET graduates.
“I urge industries to be strategic partners by promoting TVET, highlighting job opportunities and allowing students to visit (the workplaces),” he added.
He said this would increase the pull factor and make TVET the main conduit for creating highly skilled talent like in developed countries, adding that the number of students in the vocational stream was very high there.
“In Germany, for instance, TVET is considered part of mainstream education, with 70% of its students entering the vocational stream.
“The same scenario is also found in developed Asian countries such as South Korea which managed to rise quickly to become an economic power due to the strength of its education system, including TVET.”
Ismail Sabri said TVET has also been identified as one of the 14 thrusts for change in the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025).
“I wish to see at least 55% of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) school leavers pursuing TVET by 2025,” said Ismail Sabri.
He said that the accreditation and certification of TVET programmes must be improved to achieve this.
He added that exposure to these programmes must also be carried out from an early age so that children will be more aware of the career potential.
Ismail Sabri also proclaimed June 2 as National TVET Day.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said in her speech earlier that there were 1,295 TVET institutions and providers in Malaysia made up of 640 public institutions under 11 ministries, 22 state government institutions and 633 private providers.
Also present at the event were Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin, Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, and Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
