The government proposes that better collaboration involving the private sector and the government agencies be established to empower Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, after chairing today’s (Feb 2) Cabinet Meeting, he proposed immediate steps to be taken for TVET students so that they can get jobs with a reasonable income.
According to the Prime Minister, among the proposals were for private and government-linked companies (GLCs) such as Petronas, DRB-HICOM Berhad, Sunway Group and Berjaya Group to train students or take over TVET centers across the country.
He said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will identify additional steps which can be taken regarding the collaboration.
“It’s about identifying private companies that can help to solve existing problems. It is important to meet the needs of the industry as well as solve problems such as mismatch or training that is not required by the industry and unsatisfactory facilities
“This is a big decision and action needs to be taken immediately. Details will be explained in Budget 2023 on Feb 24,” said the Prime Minister.
In Budget 2023, the government allocated RM6.7 billion under seven key ministries for the implementation of various TVET initiatives.
Former Finance Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the allocation included RM180 million as a TVET Training Fund for the Skill Development Fund Corporation to provide loans to 12,000 trainees under the Malaysian Skills Certification Program.
In the previous year, the government provided an allocation of RM6.6 billion in Budget 2022 to implement various initiatives under relevant ministries and agencies to empower the TVET field.
Tengku Zafrul when presenting the 2022 Budget on 29 October 2021 said, the focus is on meeting the needs of the current industry.
Based on the previous allocation and also the latest statement from Anwar, TVET will definitely get almost the same allocation in the 2023 Budget which will be presented on 24 February.
