SEREMBAN: The rail industry offers about 25,000 job opportunities that should be taken advantage of by Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates in the field.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government emphasised that premium salaries will be offered to graduates of Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and other TVET institutions, which is at least RM3,000.
“This opportunity is taken by UniKL to break through new fields that have been dominated by external parties. I emphasise that the premium salary for UniKL graduates and other TVET institutions in the rail sector with the companies involved is a minimum of RM3,000, which can increase to RM5,000 to RM7,000 or more, depending on their expertise,“ he told reporters here today.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid officiated The Handback Ceremony of the third SCS 92 Class Train sets restored under a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) project under M Rail Technics Sdn Bhd (RAILTEC) at the Kereta Api Tanah Melayu Berhad’s (KTMB) EMU Depot in Seremban.
Also present were Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, UniKL chairman Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali and Kumpulan Destini dan Railtec chairman Datuk Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir.
Ahmad Zahid said that in line with the goal of becoming a developed country, UniKL is also directly involved in training vocational professionals and technicians in all fields, including MRO for airplanes, trains, and ships, including shipbuilding.
He explained that UniKL focuses on electronics, and in turn, TVET is no longer limited to conventional fields but also technologically skilled.
“We know that there is The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL)... in the future there will be the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR), it is equivalent to this field, we have not yet received a stipulation on who will get the contract but UniKL is willing to cooperate with all parties given the task of operating the project later,“ he said.
Meanwhile, for the programme, Ahmad Zahid said the efforts of Destini Berhad and RAILTEC are a continuation to train local professionals and technicians to be on par with foreign workers in the rail sector.
“My presence here is to see the commitment of UniKL and Destini Berhad in realising the government’s intention that local professionals and technicians are just as good as foreign professionals and technicians. MRO in the field of railways is something new, Destini Berhad collaborating with KTMB proves that local companies have the potential to become competitors and major players in the rail industry,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid encouraged more Maahad Tahfiz students to participate in the field of TVET, including meeting the technical needs of the rail industry.
“For example, in the aviation sector, we are proud of the success of Norazian Mohd Sobri, a hafizah and graduate of Madrasah Hasanah and UniKL MIAT, who is now a successful flight engineer at Thales Singapore,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Destini Berhad, in its statement, highlighted that the company’s achievement reflects its commitment to strengthening the local rail industry, marking a significant milestone as Malaysia’s Level 4 MRO contractor.
This advanced certification enables Destini to perform extensive overhauls and major repairs of rolling stock and infrastructure at specialised facilities, demonstrating the company’s technical sophistication in handling complex railway system maintenance.
RAILTEC has established itself as a premier MRO service provider, now employing a 160 strong skilled workforce who have brought with them valuable experience from KTMB.
