IPOH: The government is committed to producing sufficient local skilled manpower through the National Technical and Vocational Education and Training Council to reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign labour.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed his appreciation for the RM7.9 billion allocation announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to enable the National TVET Council to implement programmes nationwide.
Ahmad Zahid, who chairs the National TVET Council, said he is determined to strengthen TVET education modules based on robotics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and the automotive and other high-skill sectors to meet market demands.
“We do not want these skilled workers to come from foreign labour but rather be 100 per cent Malaysians who have undergone TVET training,“ he told reporters after opening the TVET@KKDW Expo 2025.
The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed the government’s commitment to inclusive education by providing opportunities for pondok and tahfiz students to further their studies at the six Malaysian Technical University Network institutions.
On the RM7.9 billion allocation for TVET under Budget 2026, Ahmad Zahid said RM45 million is for the National TVET Council while RM1.3 billion is for the Ministry of Education’s TVET institutes.
He confirmed that RM3 billion is allocated for the Human Resource Development Corporation, RM650 million for the Skills Development Fund Corporation, and RM34 million for the Department of Skills Development.
The employability rate of Malaysian TVET graduates now stands at 95.1 per cent while that of vocational colleges has surged to between 97.6 and 98.7 per cent.
More than 53.5 per cent of school leavers chose the TVET stream as their educational pathway in 2024, reflecting a paradigm shift where TVET is no longer regarded as a second option.
Ahmad Zahid expressed pride in Malaysia’s victory at the WorldSkills ASEAN 2025 competition in Manila where the country won 13 gold, four silver and three bronze medals.
“For WorldSkills Asia Taipei 2025, I am setting a target of at least 15 gold medals,“ he said while appointing Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang as Malaysia’s chef de mission.
He shared his vision that skills are the nation’s new currency with TVET representing not merely a certificate but a value that defines Malaysia’s position on the global stage.
The TVET@KKDW Expo 2025 runs from October 10 to 12 at the Ipoh Convention Centre as the ministry’s key platform to strengthen the national TVET empowerment agenda. – Bernama
