Single body to standardise TVET, for uniform quality of programme — Zahid

PUTRAJAYA: The government will create a single body for rating Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes to standardise the quality of courses offered, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid who is also National TVET Council Committee chairman said the decision was made at the TVET Council Meeting No. 1/2024 which he chaired here Tuesday.

He said the measures were also to avoid a ‘mismatch’ or nonalignment of the courses offered with the needs of the industry.

“Coordination is done for the recognition and rating of TVET (graduates) where the unification to a single rating body is done in collaboration with the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and the Department of Labour (JTK).

“It is to adapt all TVET courses based on the demand of the industry, unlike before where the syllabus in TVET was based on what the TVET institution can offer,” he said in a press conference after the National TVET Council meeting.

At the same time Ahmad Zahid hopes that TVET graduates in the country will be recognised as technologists by the Malaysian Board of Technology (MBOT) which will give them added value to increase the salary level in line with the industry’s offer in the field of high technology.

He said, MBOT, which acts as a professional body to recognise professional technologists and technicians, is also expected to continue to help strengthen the national TVET ecosystem so that it follows standards that meet the needs of the industry.

As a new approach in empowering TVET in the field of agriculture and plantations, Ahmad Zahid who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development said the National TVET Council also decided that palm fruit harvesters will no longer consist of foreign workers, but will employ skilled workers who have graduated from TVET institutions after attaining the status ‘ harvesters’.

“The new approach is to prepare a ‘harvester’ course for students to follow a course at a certain TVET institution to become a ‘harvester’, to give them the opportunity to be at a higher level in plantation and agriculture. This will give a higher salary than ordinary fruit harvesters,” he said.

In addition, he said the recruitment of TVET students after Form Three will also be strengthened starting this March, with the Ministry of Education going on roadshows to encourage students to enter the TVET field.

“This change was made to encourage the provision of skilled workers at an early age, in accordance with the increasing demand from the industry,” he said.

The TVET programme at the high school level is being implemented through programmes such as Vocational College, Technical High School and Senior Vocational Programmes.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said TVET Institutions in China also offer more than 2,000 TVET training quotas to Malaysian students.

“(Previously) they have so far offered 2,000 places to TVET students to continue their studies in China, but the latest offer that has reached MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) through UNIKL, they offer more than 2,000 on the belief of the quality of TVET graduates in our country is equivalent to the minimum qualification required by TVET institutions in China,” he said.

The training quota given by the Chinese TVET institute is in various fields, especially related to Electric Vehicles (EV), artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) technology, solar, information technology and machining. — Bernama