13MP Proves Commitment Of Govt To Empower TVET - UTeM Vice Chancellor

MELAKA, Aug 1 (Bernama) -- The introduction of the Madani Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Empowerment Financing Scheme and the TVET Training Fund in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) proves the government's commitment in expanding access to education and skills training for youth, especially from the B40 and M40 groups.

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Massila Kamalrudin said the financing scheme not only covers training fees but also living costs, thus helping rural youth to participate in TVET programmes without financial constraints.

"The implementation of the TVET Training Fund which is based on strategic collaboration with the industry also ensures that participants receive specific training that is relevant to current market needs.

"Training is now more focused on high-impact sectors such as electric vehicles (EV), automation, renewable energy, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI)," she said in a statement here today.

Explaining further, Massila said the government's approach in expanding TVET access to rural areas through the mobile TVET programme and the establishment of satellite training centres also benefits communities in villages, islands and Orang Asli areas.

"This proves that no group will be marginalised from the national development stream," she said.

She said the 13MP also introduced skills training opportunities for tahfiz students, thus forming a group of huffaz with technical and entrepreneurial skills, in line with today's workforce needs.

Commenting on the implementation of existing programmes, she said UTeM as part of the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) remained committed to producing world-class TVET graduates through various initiatives such as JELITA, TVET Place & Train and PUTEK.

“The JELITA (Job Empowerment by Learning and Inclusive Technical Advancement) programme, for example, has successfully trained more than 3,000 female participants from four main zones, including Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) with exposure to technical certification and interviews with multinational companies,” she said.

She said based on current data, more than 80 per cent of Place & Train participants were successfully absorbed into the job market upon completion of the training, including in strategic sectors such as automation and semiconductor.

She said other initiatives such as the development of campus shops, UTeM night market programme and PUTEK (Technical Entrepreneur Development) programme also encouraged the spirit of technical entrepreneurship among students.

“Through PUTEK, graduates have the opportunity to obtain a 60:40 matching funding grant to start technical businesses, including in the field of digitisation of small and medium enterprises,” she said.

Massila said the successful implementation of various initiatives under 13MP will be more effective if it receives strong support from various parties.

“This struggle cannot be shouldered by the government alone, cooperation between industry, educational institutions, parents and the community is very important so that no young person is left out of the opportunity to build their future through TVET,” she said.

-- BERNAMA