MADANI Budget 2025 Strengthens TVET Development, Boosts Private Sector Partnerships

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- The MADANI Budget 2025 is seen as a clear commitment by the government to strengthen Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to ensure that the local workforce is ready to face future industry challenges, Yayasan Mahir Malaysia president Datuk P Sri Ganes said. 

He said that the government’s move to offer matching grants of RM50 million for industries that participate in the Adopt a Public Skills Training Institution programme was a smart initiative to attract more private sector participation in education and training but stressed that such initiatives needed to be expanded to achieve a bigger and deeper impact on labour development.

"I hope that the private sector will not only act as a partner but take on a main role in drafting curriculum, preparing training facilities and helping to guide TVET graduates to be more prepared to enter the workforce,” he said in a statement to Bernama.

Sri Ganes explained that such efforts would ensure a more effective result in reducing the gap between the education system and industry needs and drive the development of a more competitive national workforce.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced a rise in TVET allocation from RM6.8 billion to RM7.5 billion when he tabled the Budget 2025 on Friday, which is in line with the National TVET policy.

On the Budget 2025, Sri Ganes said a bigger allocation would be best focused on direct intervention through deeper public-private partnerships.

"This intervention can drive clearer results, such as the rise in worker marketability and skill development that is relevant to the innovation and high technology sectors,” he said.

He also said that the government should focus more on public-private partnerships that are proactive in efforts to develop talent and technology by reducing allocations that were too large and less impactful operating expenditures.

"With this approach, we can ensure a budget that not only manages the maintenance aspect, but can serve as a catalyst to a wider and more meaningful change in the national economy and human capital development,” he explained.

-- BERNAMA