PUTRAJAYA: A new accreditation body akin to the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is being established to elevate TVET qualifications, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of TVET National Council said such a body is needed because MQA focuses too much on academics and the Skills Development Department (JPK) focuses only on skills.
He said that such a body will not disrupt MQA or the JPK accreditations, as this new body will only be assessing TVET qualifications.
He said this after officiating the Government-Industry TVET Coordination Body (GITC) TVET Placement Centre (GTPC) here Saturday (June 6).
The centre was officiated in conjunction with the National TVET Day which falls today.
"The MQA under the Higher Education Ministry focuses on the academic field. The JPK in the Human Resources Ministry focuses on skills.
“Since we have 1,395 TVET institutions, the best approach is to have accreditation carried out by a dedicated body without disrupting the processes currently conducted by MQA and JPK.
"This approach aligns with the standards adopted by several developed countries, which have a separate accreditation body that Malaysia can emulate.
"I discussed this with the Director-General (DG) and the Secretary-General of the Higher Education Ministry just now. We have submitted the proposal and will follow up with MQA and JPK regarding this new body.
"I am confident that due to foreign direct investment (FDI), we now have a very strong demand for a technical workforce. Therefore, we need to engage directly with these investors so that the courses offered are aligned with what they require, rather than us creating courses based on what we think is needed. This is highly suitable for meeting the supply and demand of the workforce in our country," said Ahmad Zahid.
Earlier, in his speech at the event, Ahmad Zahid said that GTPC is a collaborative platform established to bridge the gap between industry needs and the education provided by TVET institutions in Malaysia.
"TVET enrolment in the country has increased from nearly 350,000 students in 2020 to more than 450,000 students last year. More encouragingly, almost 57% of SPM graduates and equivalent school leavers in 2025 are now choosing the TVET pathway.
"However, success on the supply side has created a new challenge.
"When interest increases, applications increase. When applications increase, pressure on capacity also rises. As more talent enters the system, the key question we must answer is: Are industry opportunities growing at the same pace as the talent we are producing? This is the new shift in the national TVET landscape.
"The industry can no longer remain at the end of the value chain. Industry cannot simply wait for graduates to enter the workforce and then complain that their skills are insufficient or mismatched. If industry wants the right talent, it must become involved much earlier.
"This is the true meaning of co-investment in talent. The government can provide policies, institutions, basic funding, and certification. But industry must demonstrate the same level of commitment. Industry must ensure that training does not end with a certificate but genuinely leads to the skills required by the economy.
"We cannot promote TVET as a primary pathway if skills continue to be undervalued. Therefore, to ensure that TVET 2.0 truly meets the needs of the future economy, industry recognition of TVET programmes must be strengthened.
"GTPC is extremely important as a national bridge between talent and industry. Through GTPC, we aim to make the placement of industrial training, work-based learning, apprenticeships, employment opportunities, and talent matching more structured and effective,” he said, adding that the industry must also play an active role in identifying and nurturing talent.
Federations of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai, in his welcoming speech, said that industrial training and education industries cannot work in isolation anymore without industry involvement.
"We can no longer operate in silos. Industry cannot move forward on its own. Training institutions cannot design curricula without industry input. And the government cannot formulate policies without understanding the realities on the ground.
"This is why GITC plays a crucial role as an ecosystem coordinator, bringing together the three key stakeholders—government, industry, and institutions—to ensure that policies, training, and talent placement are aligned in the same direction.
"We have set clear targets - 1,000 companies engaged by the end of this year, with a phased target of reaching between 10,000 and 20,000 companies in the longer term.
"We will also provide 50,000 to 100,000 job placements by next year; 5,000 participants in work-based learning (WBL) programmes, apprenticeships, and industrial internships; and 50,000 to 100,000 participants in apprenticeship, internship, and talent development initiatives," said Soh.
