Putting TVET to the fore

MALAYSIA needs a highly skilled workforce to fill the current gap between supply and demand across various industries, particularly those driving readiness for economic transformation in IR4.0 (Fourth Industrial Revolution).

Recently, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) reported that the manufacturing sector will need an additional 600,000 foreign workers to restore business operations to pre-pandemic levels.

And Nordin Abdul Malek, executive chairman of the Agro-Entrepreneur Institute (iGROW), said labour shortage in the plantation sector, particularly oil palm, which resulted in losses of up to RM10bil in 2021, has yet to be resolved.

To address the issue of reliance on migrant workers, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has suggested that Malaysia shift its emphasis from academic education to technical and vocational education training (TVET).

According to the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020), access to vocational training is effective in reducing unemployment and improving people’s living standards.

The unemployment rate fell from 3.4% in 2017 to 2.8% in 2020. The living standard of B40 households improved as the poverty rate fell from 7.6% (2017) to 5.6% (2019).

The TVET system plays an important role in expediting the smooth matching of skills desired by employers with skills offered by workers.

Junichi Mori, chief technical adviser of the ILO-UK Skills for Prosperity Programme in Malaysia, cited data from the Higher Education Ministry to show that TVET and skills training graduates outperformed those with higher education degrees in terms of employment opportunities.

As per 2019 statistics, polytechnic graduates held the highest percentage of employment at 81.2%, followed by vocational college graduates at 76.7%, community college graduates at 74.4%, and those from other public skills training institutions at between 57.1% and 71.4%, compared with 62.8% for those from tertiary education institutions.

This indicates that skills training certificates such as the Malaysian Skills Certificate (SKM) Level 1 to 5 are viable options for advancing employment.

Since there are gaps in current technical skills with the technical skills required for IR4.0, it is recommended that TVET institutions restructure the software learning process and network structures to master big data technologies.

National accreditation for TVET also needs to be updated to ensure that quality graduates are able to meet the needs of industry, earn a decent wage and create their own jobs.

The government must raise awareness of the benefits of TVET by showing not only the high percentage of employment available but also what type of jobs students can obtain and how to further develop their careers and skills.

Hopefully, the labour market information analysis platform that the government has developed as an initiative under the 12th Malaysia Plan will help to provide better quality information on career prospects.

People will be reluctant to prioritise TVET over higher education if prospects for long-term career advancement and income growth are not very clear.

As part of the TVET institution, the Manpower Department (JTM) of the Human Resources Ministry has initiated an international strategic plan to formulate a combination of technology, innovation, incentives and experience to produce market-ready graduates.

This year, JTM is collaborating with the World Bank in Malaysia, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Embassy of Japan, Dongyang Mirae University South Korea and Yantai Vocational College China to raise the international profile of Malaysian TVET education.

JTM will also work with the European Union through the Vocational Education and Training (VET) toolbox programme to develop a vocational training framework for the B40 group.

SHAKIB AHMAD SHAKIR

Director-general and TS. DR RODZIDAH MOHD RODZI

Special officer (Research)

Manpower Department

Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia