Thumbs up: (back row, standing from left) YSD chief executive officer Dr Yatela Zainal Abidin, Jeffri Salim, Mohamed Khaled, YSD governing council member Puan Sri Normah Hashim, and Higher Education deputy secretary-general (Policy) Datuk Dr Megat Sany Megat Ahmad Supian, posing for a photo with the outstanding YSD TVET scholars.
STUDENTS with any technical and vocational education and training (TVET) certification will soon have the opportunity to enrol in a diploma programme at a polytechnic, and to pursue a degree after that.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the coming months would see a special pathway being created for TVET students to continue their tertiary education.
“This is to ensure that TVET students are interested to continue upskilling, which is important if they want to earn a higher salary,” he said.
The ministry, he added, would also set up a TVET foundation centre, which would run a one-year foundation programme for Form Five school-leavers so that they would be eligible for TVET programmes in technical universities.
He said the programme would be affordable at RM400.
Over the next five years, he said jobs related to TVET would continue to see stable growth while work opportunities in other areas are expected to shrink.
Citing the Future of Jobs Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum, he said machine and technology operators, and artificial intelligence technology analysts, would continue to be in demand.
Mohamed Khaled was speaking during the launch of the Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) TVET Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur on May 30.
In his speech, Mohamed Khaled also invited industry players to work collaboratively to create a more robust TVET programme and tackle existing issues in the sector.
Industry involvement, he said, would ensure that the content of TVET programmes is in line with industry standards and also increase the value of TVET jobs, allowing for better salaries for its graduates.
“More youth would also be attracted to sign up for TVET programmes.
“It is a win-win situation as industry players can source and train much-needed talent for the job market.
“No industry can be resilient without a stable and sufficient supply of talent,” he said.
During the event, outstanding TVET scholars were awarded certificates in recognition of their achievements.
Krithin Paul Pereira, a scholar with cerebral palsy, was presented with the Inspirational Award while Muhammad Naim Azizan, who obtained a certificate in heavy equipment, received the TVET Role Model Award.
Also present at the event were Treasury secretary-general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican and Sime Darby Berhad group chief executive officer and YSD governing council member Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson.
YSD has provided more than RM37mil for TVET education, said Jeffri Salim.
Since 2017, YSD has supported 1,412 talented individuals on their vocational education journeys and will commit a further RM29.7mil from 2023 to 2028 for its TVET bursary programme, he added.
“I am very proud to say that 100% of the foundation’s TVET scholars have secured jobs after graduation.
“Many of them are hired within the Sime Darby companies, which is an endorsement of their skills,” he said.
