500 TVET students to be sent for training in China

KUALA LUMPUR: Fifty-six technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions nationwide will be sending 500 young people to China next month for enhanced skills training.

National Association of Skilled Workers secretary-general Mohammad Rizan Hassan said the agreement was reached at a meeting with the institutions at the Rubber Industry Smallholder Development Authority (Risda) headquarters here on Tuesday.

The objective of the meeting was to reach a consensus in support of the government’s intention to establish the Malaysia-China Institute (MCI).

According to him, the selected young people had passed Levels 2 and 3 of the Malaysian Skills Certificate issued by the Skills Development Department, and will undergo training in eight main skill areas.

“The skill areas involved are electric vehicles, solar technology, ecommerce, digital, and information and communication technology, electricity and electronics, railway technology, manufacturing-related services, and machinery and equipment,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, reported Bernama.

On Jan 16, Deputy Prime Minister and National TVET Council chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that the Chinese government and industries were prepared to offer additional scholarships for 1,000 Malaysian students to undergo skills training for a duration ranging from three months to one year.

The scholarship offer was executed through a collaboration with MCI as part of the Belt and Road Initiative inspired by the Chinese government.