Category Archives: TVET & Vocational Training – Malaysian News

Night TVET classes for working community

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, , , ,

Human Resources minister M. Kulasegaran and Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa at a ceremony to celebrate Japanese Foreign Ministry commendation to Japan-Malaysia Technical Institute (JMTI) for promotion of economic relations between Japan and Malaysia at JMTI in Lorong Bukit Minyak. NSTP/RAMDZAN MASIAM.By Balvin Kaur – April 7, 2019 @ 4:37pm

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Human Resources Ministry is encouraging technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions to provide night classes for the working class community.

Its Minister M. Kulasegaran said the current operation hours were 8am to 5pm but the ministry encouraged the institutions to extend the operational hours for another six hours by remaining open until 11pm.

“Eight to five are the normal working hours but we are now encouraging all TVET institutions to also operate from 5pm to 11pm to give opportunity for those working in nearby companies to continue their training to improve their skills.

“This is being done in other countries including Japan and even here at the Penang Skill Development Centre,” he told reporters after attending a ceremony to celebrate Japanese Foreign Ministry commendation to Japan-Malaysia Technical Institute (JMTI) for promotion of economic relations between Japan and Malaysia at JMTI in Lorong Bukit Minyak here today.

Also present were Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa.

Kulasegaran said the ministry had also suggested to Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to continue working with JMTI as a regional training centre that runs JICA training programmes for participants in this region.

“I believe that this is significant as it lends credence to the name “Japan-Malaysia Technical Institute”,” he said.

He said he hoped JICA would continue to dispatch technical experts and senior volunteers to share knowledge with instructors from local institutions.

Meanwhile, Lim said in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (11MP), it was targeted that the percentage of skilled workers would increase from 28 per cent to 35 per cent by 2020 but in order to achieve this, TVET sector needed to become a game changer so that it could easily meet the demand and requirement of the industry.

“The target is to increase TVET students annual intake gradually from 164,000 in 2013 to 225,000 in 2020,” he said.

Lim said government continued to place strong emphasis for improvement of TVET and had provided significant allocation for this year, totalling nearly RM170 million.

However, Lim said the government could no longer afford to provide large allocations to public institutions with regards to capital expenses such as buying new machines and equipment.

He said an effective public-private partnership was needed in which industry could share their resources such as machineries and technical expertise in order to help train more local students.

“Now more than ever, it is crucial that the private sector comes forward and helps the government by sponsoring, or donating equipment or machinery to TVET institutions.

“Alternatively companies may also provide opportunities for TVET students to be trained using machines and equipment available at their facilities,” he said.

Lim said in other countries such India and Germany, there was specific legislation that compelled companies to participate in TVET.

However, the Bagan member of parliament did not elaborate on whether the government had plans to implement such legislation.

Lim said the government hoped that the industry and TVET institutions would voluntarily collaborate across their entire value chain of TVET, if possible from student recruitment to curriculum design, delivery and even job placement.

“Companies should also consider offering scholarships especially for students to encourage more students to join TVET programmes. For this year, such contributions are eligible for tax deduction,” he said.

Source: www.nst.com.my

Comment: Another option is to learn TVET courses via online (blended with workshops) that makes it easier for working adults to learn anytime, anywhere.

Kula: UEC students can apply for TVET

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, , ,

IPOH: Since July last year, Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders have been able to apply to enrol in the government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), says Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran.

He said this was part of the minis­try’s efforts to attract more students to join institutions offering these programmes.

Previously, only those with SPM qualification were accepted into such institutions.

Kulasegaran said the institutions welcomed not only UEC holders but just about anyone, regardless of race or religion, from Tamil or religious schools.

“Thus, we need to loosen the intake rules to get more people to take up TVET,” he told reporters after a dialogue session with the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) at the Ipoh Indus­trial Training Institute on TVET options for students.

Kulasegaran said his ministry was also discussing with the Education Ministry to look into the possibility of lowering the intake age to 16.

“We want students who are not so academically inclined to pursue the courses of their choice,” he said.

“Many are good with their hands, and such institutions are a prefect choice for them.”

Besides that, Kulasegaran said he had also met with orang asli village heads to get more of their children to take up TVET, some of whom were 18 years of age but possessed only Form One qualification.

He said some of them were in the process of being admitted into the technical schools nationwide.

“There are still 35% of places available. We must find ways to tap the talent we have in the country,” he said.

“TVET must no longer be a second choice but the first choice for most children as technical courses are the way forward.”

Kulasegaran also noted that 94% of trainees from such institutions were employed upon graduation.

These institutions, he said, had existed in the country for many years, with the first set up in Kuala Lumpur in 1964, yet many people were unaware of it.

“Through dialogues with NUTP and other stakeholders, we want to reach out to more students,” he said.

Source: www.nst.com.my
Date: 7th April

Tawau Vocational College hopes to gain from Taiwan link-up

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News,

TAWAU: Director of the Tawau Vocational College, Ahmad Fakhrurasi Hamzah, is confident its international cooperation with seven Taiwan institutes of higher learning will strengthen Sabah’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). He said they signed a memorandum of understanding with these universities and colleges during a recent benchmarking visit to the country and is now in the midst of streamlining the agreement, including taking into consideration the standard operating procedures of the law. He said it was understood that equipment such as machines for learning at Taiwan’s higher learning institutions are replaced every three years and, hopefully, this will be donated to the Tawau Vocational College. “They have already shared their intention of donating their equipment and we hope this can be done,” he said.  

Commenting further, Ahmad Fakhrurazi said the inking of the MoU is to provide lecturers from the Tawau Vocational College with the opportunities of advancement at higher learning institutes in developed countries to enhance their competitiveness. In addition, he hoped that the development would be a starting point towards producing competent and skilled students.  

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of Taiwan’s Sabah Branch Alumni Association, Pang Thou Chong said Tawau Vocational College has a huge potential and that TVET is very important for the job market and also provide good prospect for the State. He hoped the initiatives and cooperation would enhance the students’ skills particularly in agriculture, mechanics, construction, culinary and electronics in view of the job market for graduates with TVET skills.

Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my

Comment: Such tie up definitely benefit our students as well as cost savings from the purchase of these machines, some of which maybe very costly.
But am just wondering, why would the Taiwanese higher learning institutions donate to Malaysian counterpart rather than to their local TVET institutions? Are they so rich or even their local TVET institutions consider those machines would be too outdated by then?

TVET courses to be recognised by single body, says Maszlee

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, , , , ,

SHAH ALAM: Education Minister Maszlee Malik says the Cabinet has approved a proposal for a single qualifying body for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses.

“This is so that every TVET institution will produce graduates who are recognised, instead of them being lumped together in the labour market without recognition from the industry,” he said in his speech at the Rise of the Asian Tiger Convention at UiTM Shah Alam today.

He added that the process of integration has begun for vocational colleges, polytechnics, community colleges, and technical universities in the country.

Previously, he said, these institutions were separate and played different functions.

“Today they are all under one roof, under the education ministry. But what we want is for them to be standardised, so there is alignment and communication between these institutions.

“We want to increase material sharing, sharing of expertise, and sharing of industry connections.”

He referred to programmes at vocational colleges which are often criticised for being unrecognised or unaccepted. These, he said, would now abide by the standards of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency and the Department of Skills Development under the human resources ministry.

This would also enable industry players to connect with the ministry with more ease, which would in turn provide a wider employment market for graduates, he said.

He said the ministry would ensure that TVET courses are seen as a primary choice instead of an alternative.

On a recent Bank Negara report highlighting low entry-level salaries, he said the issue is being addressed, with changes underway.

Besides widening industry participation in education, he said, the ministry will review the courses and tertiary education streams that are presently available.

This includes looking into the potential cancellation of certain courses, or the addition of new ones which are more needs-driven or based on current market needs.

“What is for certain is that the ministry is committed to ensuring that universities and graduates are capable of preparing the best products in the industry network, to face the obstacles of the fourth industrial revolution,” he said.

Maszlee also spoke of an increased collaboration among public universities.

“They will collaborate between one public university and another based on their various fields, whereby we have categorised the public universities into clusters,” he said.

“We no longer want them moving in a silo, or conducting their roles without collaboration or synergy. (This way) we can ensure that the best is given to students and the academics working at the universities.”

He said the ministry has set up different clusters to help public universities reinforce their strengths, identities and marketability of their graduates.

“We also want to stress the concept of internationalising our universities.

“We are confident that we can become leaders in our fields, and in each speciality of these universities,” he said.

The categories in question are: Malaysian Focus University, Malaysian Research University, Malaysian Comprehensive University, Malaysian Technical University and Malaysian Islamic University.

On the matter of the zero-reject policy in schools, Maszlee said schools had received 83,039 disabled students since the policy was implemented earlier this year.

For undocumented children, 2,635 students have registered with schools so far.

Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Comment:
Wonder what took the Ministry so long.
So now “Integration has begun for vocational colleges, polytechnics, community colleges, and technical universities” – no details given on the integration.
And what about the ILP, IKBN, IKTBN and other Pusat Bertauliah JPK, especially the private ones?

Govt committed to having quality graduates with vocational education module

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, , , ,
– Bernama

PETALING JAYA: The Youth and Sports Ministry is committed to create a new generation of quality graduates with its National Youth Skills Institute’s (IKBN) Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) module.

Its Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (pic) said the blueprint, dubbed IR4.0 TVET-IKBN, would be adapted for IKBN undergraduates based on the Teaching Factory module from Germany.

He was commenting on media reports quoting Bank Negara’s 2018 annual report, which found that monthly salaries for diploma or degree holders had dipped since 2010. The study also found that fewer people were being hired for high-skilled jobs.

In a Facebook post on Thursday (March 28), Syed Saddiq outlined the scenario he hoped would materialise with the IR4.0 TVET-IKBN blueprint in place.

“Imagine, 94% of the IKBN graduates being offered job opportunities after graduating.

“Upskilling and reskilling are the recipe for graduates today. Through the TVET programme, graduates will be matched with Industry 4.0 needs,” he said.

Noting that there are 22 TVET institutes nationwide, Syed Saddiq said that the ministry would get more industries involved with TVET programmes.

“The ministry has managed to sign 41 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at the Federal level and 192 MOUs at Youth and Sports Skills Training Institute (ILKBS) level, which is part of the TVET module,” he said, adding that Petronas, Gamuda Berhad and Proton are among those involved.

Syed Saddiq also wrote that the ministry, through TVET, had carried out a ‘bootcamp’ programme for the graduates, where 465 job offers from over 15 companies were provided to these graduates.

“The issue is close to my heart, and the ministry is committed to creating quality graduates,” he added.

He also called on the various industry players to collaborate and help the youth be part of the high-impact industry.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my

Comment: If you’re looking beyond government skills training institutes, willing to explore the private ones, express your interest here

TVET good option for furthering studies and getting jobs, says Kula

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, TVET/Skills courses,
Human Resources Minister M Kula Segaran.

SEREMBAN: Technical and vocational education and training (TVET), which emphasises skills, is a good option for furthering studies, said Human Resources Minister M Kula Segaran.

He said this was in line with the country’s aim to produce more skilled workers as currently the percentage of skilled workers stood at only 28% when the target by 2020 is 35%.

“Skills training is very important and the country’s progress depends on it.

“I hope our young will pick TVET as the first choice. Parents should not solely be looking at sending their children to universities because TVET is no less important,” he told reporters after attending a “Human resource ministry with the people” event in Rantau here today.

He also said involvement of the Chinese and Indian communities in TVET was rather lukewarm, standing at 1% and 5% respectively, and that the ministry was intensifying efforts to encourage higher participation from them as well as the Orang Asli community.

He added it was easy for TVET students to get jobs after completing their courses, citing the take-up rate now stood at 94%.

On other matters, Kula said the ministry held “Meet-the-Customer” sessions at its headquarters in Putrajaya every Tuesday from 8am to 10am, whereby not only top ministry officials would be present but he himself.

In conjunction with the progamme, the minister also made a walkabout at the new market in Rantau town.

Source: www.freemalaysiatoday.com/

Comment: If you are interested to pursue TVET education but do not know where to find these institutions, fill up your details here

Mukhriz: Youth should look at TVET’s marketability

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, TVET/Skills courses, ,
Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said the perception that TVET as the second option should stop as TVET graduates have proven to have gained popularity in the industry especially in the era of the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0). — Picture by Mukhriz Hazim
Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said the perception that TVET as the second option should stop as TVET graduates have proven to have gained popularity in the industry especially in the era of the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0). — Picture by Mukhriz Hazim

JITRA, March 17 — Young people have been urged to consider the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for all its advantages while furthering their education, especially in terms of graduates’ marketability.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said the perception that TVET as the second option should stop as TVET graduates have proven to have gained popularity in the industry especially in the era of the fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0).

“TVET has been through the current paradigm shift and I welcome the industry players to ensure the training carried out to meet the needs of the industry today.

“Therefore, the government transforms and empowers TVET so that it will be the best choice for parents and students as well as to enhance their job marketability,” he said this in his speech at the opening ceremony of  the TVET Education Skills Development @Kedah Carnival here today.

He said there were more than 45 institutions in the state offering students various skills, among others, information technology, electrical and electronics, culinary and agriculture.

“Candidates of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), especially those who with results that may not be up to mark, I hope they will take the advantage of this TVET because of the wider job opportunities for those who have the skills to work in the industrial sector in the state,” he said.

Source: Bernama

Minister: Cabinet will choose Nurul Izzah’s replacement at TVET taskforce

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, ,
Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar vacated the position along with all her other positions in PKR in December, following allegations of nepotism in the government. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar vacated the position along with all her other positions in PKR in December, following allegations of nepotism in the government. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

IPOH, March 16 — M. Kulasegaran said he is leaving the appointment of a new chairman for the Technical and Vocational Education Training Empowerment Committee (TVET) to the Cabinet.

Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar vacated the position along with all her other positions in PKR in December, following allegations of nepotism in the government.

The human resources minister also said there was no rush to choose a replacement.

“The committee can still go on despite not having its chairman there,” he said.

He said there are mechanisms in place to ensure the committee is able to perform its functions temporarily even without a head.

“My ministry and the Education Ministry are working together. At the end of the day, it is the officers who are doing the thing,” he added.

The committee is tasked with improving the country’s vocational education system.

Kulasegaran also explained that the PKR MP’s departure did not disrupt the committee’s review.

“We will have a conference in either April or May to present the findings of the committee,” he said.

The minister then credited the committee with improving awareness on vocational training and its innovations.

He said his ministry was also aiming to increase vocational training enrolment by increasing TVET hours.

“Now its operating hours is from 8am to 5pm. We are discussing with TVET directors to extend its hours to 11pm so that those working can study part time there.

“There are many types of training available. We are also getting specialised lecturers,” he added.

Source: www.malaymail.com

Comment: Extend operating hours to 11pm? Great idea but perhaps efficiency should be the priority, otherwise expenses may baloon with more officers ‘makan gaji buta’.


Minimum wage based on sector for implementation in two years: Kula Segaran

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News

IPOH: The implementation of the minimum wage according to sectors will only be implemented at the earliest, in two years, said Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran.

He said according to the National Wages Consultative Council Act (NWCC) 2011, a review of the minimum wage should be carried out every two years.

“Many people are unaware that that matters on wages are determined by a committee (National Wage Legislative Technical Committee), the minister has no power.

“Before the implementation of the minimum wage of RM1,100, discussions were held to cover all aspects, but according to the NWCC Act 2011, the matter will be reviewed and it is for later, not for now,“ he added.

He was speaking to reporters after the Meet & Greet Session at the Satria 4.0 & TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training) Seminar 2019 at the Ipoh Industrial Training Institute in Meru.

Last Monday, media reports had said that the government would review the minimum wage rates according to job sectors.

Meanwhile, in his speech at the event, Kula, who is MP for Ipoh Barat, told the trainees that those who possessed TVET qualifications had bright career prospects, including in the film industry.

Source: Bernama

RM2mil allocation for UCSF for skills training

TVET & Vocational Training - Malaysian News, ,

KOTA KINABALU: University College Yayasan Sabah (UCSF) received a RM2 million allocation from the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister’s Department for its skills training programmes in the State. ICU Director-General Datuk Zolkopli Dahalan said the allocation was included in the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK11) and his department fully supported UCSF’s efforts to attract the younger generation, especially those side-lined by mainstream education, to receive skills training which would enable them to earn a living and contribute to the economic development of the State and country.“If the programme shows a good outcome, then it may be continued in the next Malaysia Plan. This kind of training is good and I can see some of the work of trainees have already achieved international standards, so this work is something to be proud of and should be continued.” He said this to reporters after officiating the closing ceremony of the Borneo Art Newcomers (Banco) 2019, here, Thursday.

Asked whether similar programmes can be set up in other parts of the country, Zolkopli agreed and said he also welcomed other states to implement similar training programmes for school students not able to pursue their education to a higher level.“Of course, there are also side-lined youths in other states. But it is up to those respective states to take the effort to provide the opportunity for similar skills training for their youths so they can also improve their standard of living,” he said. 

A total of 70 trainees under the Sabah Native Special Programme 2018, who completed their visual arts, visual art sculptures and botanical batik creative arts short-term courses, also received their course certificate. UCSF Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohamed Haleem Mohamed Razi, in his speech, said UCSF hoped the course can be continued and expanded to reach out to more youths in the State where he said such training will assist and expand the talents and skills of youth trainees in line with the Government’s efforts to develop the State. 

Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my

Comment: Every now and then, we see news of funds going to public TVET colleges or in this case, University College. What about the private sector? How much is the allocation from PTPK??
Is it enough for the private TVET colleges & institutes?
We will all know by end of the month but I highly suspect, it’s not gonna be enough, many of them either got to downsize, cease operation or if they want to survive, got to think creatively how to pull through this tough period.