TIANJIN: Malaysia welcomes the establishment of a Luban Training Centre to strengthen technical and vocational education and training (TVET), says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the centre would help improve the skills of Malaysian instructors and lecturers through training, free equipment and access to the latest technology.
“It is about training the trainers, meaning training for our instructors and lecturers,” he told reporters after delivering his keynote address at the 2026 World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference here on Friday (Oct 16).
He said Malaysia had proposed that the Chinese programme work with the Malaysia-China Institute (MCI) and local TVET institutions.
“This is an approach in which they come here, rather than us sending students overseas,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said the initiative would allow more Malaysian instructors and lecturers to benefit from China's expertise, with the centre providing equipment free of charge and sharing the latest training modules.
He said Malaysia could also learn from China in emerging fields such as quantum technology and information technology.
“We must work with China to learn about these new technologies together,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid said countries such as Thailand and Indonesia had already benefited from similar initiatives, and expressed hope that Malaysia could follow suit.
He reiterated Malaysia's proposal to establish a World TVET Council, with China as its permanent host, to promote international cooperation and allow more countries to benefit from China's experience in vocational education.
He said TVET would play an important role in developing a highly skilled workforce, including helping Malaysia meet its target of producing 60,000 semiconductor engineers by 2030.
The first Luban Workshop in Asean was established in Thailand in 2016 through cooperation between Chinese and Thai vocational institutions.
China has established 38 Luban Workshops in 32 countries, producing more than 30,000 graduates and training over 160,000 other trainees, according to figures previously released by China's Education Ministry.
