Operationalising TVET action plans

THE recently concluded Asia-Pacific Conference on Education and Training in Kuala Lumpur early this month marked another milestone in our technical and vocational education and training (TVET) journey. The Kuala Lumpur Declaration, accepted and endorsed during the three-day high-level conference, was testament not only to Malaysia’s but also the region’s commitment to bring TVET to the forefront of human capital development.

Clearly at this point, countries in the region know what needs to be done to “make skills development work for the future”, which, by the way, was also the theme of the conference. In essence, the eight-point recommendation in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration document urges member countries to enhance TVET’s quality, relevance, inclusiveness, equitability and governance, as well as create future workers who are mobile, constantly learning and information and communications technology-savvy. It also recommends that TVET in the region supports the notion of sustainable development and green economy.

It is hard to disagree with the recommendations. But of course, achieving them is easier said than done. How do we make skills work for the future, when the future is uncertain, especially during these turbulent economic times?

Skills mismatch has long been, and still is, the main concern in TVET and the education sector, as a whole. There are concerns that skills taught at TVET institutions are insufficient to meet industry needs. With these needs constantly changing, our approach has been to target emerging industries, predict their needs and train the incoming workforce accordingly.

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