TVET Students To Undergo Training In Emerging Fields At Govt Institutions – Anwar

PUTRAJAYA, June 6 (Bernama) -- All government training and research institutions will be required to provide training programmes in emerging fields for selected Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students beginning July, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said he has instructed Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar to coordinate the initiative to further enhance the skills of TVET students nationwide.

He said at least 50 to 100 TVET students at each selected institution will be given early training opportunities in emerging and high-technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptology.

“They will be selected to master truly new fields, namely AI, cryptology and energy transition,” he said when officiating at the National TVET Day 2026 celebration here today.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, ministers and Shamsul Azri.

Anwar said that selected TVET students will undergo training at various agencies, including the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute or research training centres under the National Science Council.

"This means that certain selected TVET graduates will automatically be elevated above (having market value greater than) a bachelor's degree holder.

"Therefore, their wages and salaries should be ensured to be higher than what any graduate holding a bachelor's degree receives," he said. 

He stressed that this initiative is an additional step by the government to uplift the status of TVET graduates, thereby attracting more young people to pursue the field.

He said Shamsul Azri is expected to call the relevant agencies next week to determine the number of students from each TVET institution to be taken for supplementary courses so that they can acquire skills and expertise not yet available in the public education system today.

Anwar said the extraordinary rise of TVET in Malaysia is driven by good government policies as well as the commitment of Ahmad Zahid, as the National TVET Council chairman.

More encouragingly, the Prime Minister said that the nation's TVET has now become a benchmark in the ASEAN region, proving Malaysia's ability to elevate this field of education extensively.

"We have improved our performance. In ASEAN, I am certain that Malaysia's TVET has become an important benchmark for how a country can elevate TVET training, and it is now considered among the top in ASEAN,” he said.

The Prime Minister said he had emphasised to Cabinet members that success would come with a clear policy.

National TVET Day is celebrated every June 2 to recognise the role of skills education as a driver of human capital development, while also serving as an important platform in strengthening the MADANI TVET agenda, which emphasises skills, innovation and graduate employability.

Under the Malaysia MADANI framework, TVET is now elevated as a national agenda and no longer just a second-choice option, with the government committed to empowering the field through the offering of high-tech courses to meet the demands of global industrial investment.

-- BERNAMA