MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur discusses vocational training for young people

The Skilled Workers Association accuses the Malaysian government of not doing enough to orient graduates to the needs of local industries. The deputy prime minister responded that they are “working on a plan to coordinate the 1,260 institutions in the country, avoid overlapping and improve the training offer.” An “inclusive and equitable” quality education, among the UN Development Goals.

Kuala Lumpur () – A major professional association in Malaysia has accused the government of not doing enough to promote technical and vocational education and training (TVET) among the country’s youth. Official sources responded to this accusation by stating that a major restructuring of these programs has been underway since February, with the aim of improving the educational offer.

Some days ago, Free Malaysia Today reported that the National Association of Skilled Workers (PKPB) had publicly complained about the government’s lack of efforts to make vocational training the first choice for graduates of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), the country’s baccalaureate examination which opens on the way to college or work. The PKPB also stated that Malaysian industry is too dependent on foreign labor and that vocational training institutions face financial problems and an excessively theoretical curriculum.

In February, in the Malay Mail, the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had announced the creation of a unit to coordinate the 1,260 TVET institutes in Malaysia, with the aim of rationalizing the offer avoiding overlaps and improving the preparation of graduates. “TVET is currently being restructured,” confirmed Rubin Khoo, press officer at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, one of several ministries offering such programs.

Wirdawati Ahmad, a professor at Tun Syed Nasir Syed Ismail Polytechnic near Johor Baru, explained that polytechnics like hers and university colleges offer TVET programs under the aegis of the Ministry of Higher Education. She added that, like other Malaysian higher education institutions, hers uses Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) and Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) for quality control.

Study Malaysia shares the same view, stating that TVET adheres to UNESCO’s definition of “the study of technology and related sciences, as well as the acquisition of practical skills, attitudes, understanding and knowledge related to occupations in various sectors of the economy and social life. JPK Malaysia also argued that vocational education and training encompasses the National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS), which emphasize “practical components, psychomotor skills and exposure to industry training”. In addition, he pointed out that this training was already renewed in 2017 to combat what was perceived as an overvaluation of academic skills at the expense of applied disciplines.

Unesco, which manages 220 vocational training centers in 140 countries, aspires to provide 10 million young people with adequate professional skills by 2029, in line with the fourth of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which postulates ” inclusive and equitable quality education and the promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all”. In its national TVET profile for Malaysia, Unesco states that there are 285,000 young Malaysians enrolled in these programmes, of whom 44% are women.

Photo: Flickr/World Bank Photo