Edwin Oh Chun Kit, a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP), a Malaysia think tank, warned that these paradoxes, if unaddressed, will increase the risk of further long-term economic stagnation.
“The administration must strive to streamline inter-ministerial coordination and improve oversight for both TVET and higher education to ensure alignment with industry demands,” he told CNA.
Employers should also advise the government and work with educational institutions to “provide real-world insights into evolving workforce needs”, Oh said.
MAKING TVET MORE ATTRACTIVE
TVET aims to produce graduates in fields like manufacturing, construction, healthcare and information technology with skills relevant to industry needs.
TVET courses, which range from levels 1 to 5 with the highest being equivalent to an advanced diploma or associate degree, are offered at public and private universities, polytechnics and community colleges across Malaysia.
“With greater synergy in these efforts, Malaysia can effectively bridge the skills mismatch, improve labour market outcomes, and drive sustainable economic growth,” Oh added.
Malaysia produces about 100,000 TVET graduates each year. The government is targeting 500,000 students to enrol in TVET programmes across all 1,398 TVET institutions nationwide this year, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also National TVET Council chairman.
“The courses provided are tailored to meet employer demands, particularly from industries, and Memorandums of Agreement have been signed between TVET institutions and employers,” he said on Jan 11 as quoted by Bernama.
“This means that upon completing their courses, TVET graduates will immediately be employed by these employers.”
In a bid to make TVET more attractive, Sim said he had proposed to the Cabinet to introduce levels 6, 7 and 8 for the programme, “sort of” equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and a doctorate.
Other plans include making TVET more accessible by introducing a one-stop application portal and a “skill university” without a fixed term schedule and racial quota that allows students from diverse backgrounds to enrol at any time, Sim said.
TVET NOT LIKE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
However, Sim cautioned that the moves are not meant to make TVET more akin to a university education, noting that the latter is not designed to meet current job demands.
“We have to rethink university. I think, essentially, university is for you to go (for) four years (of) deep thinking. Think about the meaning of life. What is love? What is pain? What is death? Where is God? Who is God?” he said.
“But industry may not necessarily benefit from such a model of training. Which is why the obsession with making TVET to be like university, I think we should change.”
Sim later clarified that a university education was still needed for such philosophical training, but not for current industrial needs.
“What I’m trying to say is this: If you are thinking the current university model will be able to fill your job market demand, then you are delusional. Because universities … (are) not created for the industrialised world,” he added.
Source: CNA
