In the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020) ‘Anchoring Growth on People’, the government has outlined six strategic thrusts that will help Malaysia stay ahead of the challenges and opportunities of the fast-changing global and political landscape. In addition, there are six corresponding game changers which are innovative approaches to accelerate Malaysia’s development.
One such game changer is to enable industry-led Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in the country. TVET is important for Malaysia as under the 11MP, 60% of the 1.5 million jobs that will be created will require TVET-related skills. To enable an effective TVET sector, the government would need to ensure that:
- supply matches demand, and that all TVET providers (public and private institutions) meet quality standards
- industry and TVET providers collaborate on student recruitment, curriculum design, delivery, and job placement
- students are well-informed of the opportunities that TVET can offer and have access to a variety of innovative, industry-led programmes that better prepares them for the workplace.
Here’s a summary of the major shifts that will take place:
| From | To |
|---|---|
| Two accreditation agencies (MQA and DSD) with different sets of qualifications | Single qualification system adopted by both MQA and DSD |
| Different quality rating systems for public and private TVET institutions, depending on which Ministry the institution is registered with | Single rating system for both public and private TVET institutions |
| Design and delivery of curriculum led by individual TVET institutions or government | Design and delivery of curriculum led by individual TVET institutions or government |
| No specialisation among TVET institutions | Institutions to specialise in and create Centres of Excellence in niche areas of expertise |
| 164,000 intake in 2013 | 225,000 intake per annum in 2020, by maximising use of existing institutions |
| Limited recognition and low premium | Career of choice for students |
The game changer outlined above works in tandem with Strategic Thrust 3: Accelerating human capital development for an advanced nation. Under this thrust, TVET will be transformed to meet industry demand. This will be done by strengthening the governance of TVET, enhancing quality and delivery of TVET programmes to improve graduate employability, and rebranding TVET to increase its attractiveness.
In addition, this thrust also aims to improve the quality of education for better student outcomes and institutional excellence by: enhancing access and quality to improve student outcomes; enhancing governance and stakeholder partnerships for better school support; raising the quality of graduates and programmes and strengthening research for innovation; and strengthening IHE governance and financial sustainability towards institutional excellence.
Lastly, this thrust also aims to strengthen lifelong learning for skills enhancement by: improving the effectiveness of programmes to meet learning needs; and improving regulatory and funding support to broaden access.
Among the selected outcomes the government hopes to achieve are:
- An increase in the intake of SPM leavers to TVET programmes from 164,000 in 2013 to 225,000 in 2020
- A 58% increase in number of employees that will benefit from expansion of the HRDF Act through skills enhancement; from 1.77 million employees in 2014 to 2.8 million in 2020
- To be at least on par with the international average in PISA and TIMSS assessments
- To have two universities in the top 100 of the QS World University Rankings
- To achieve 100% student enrolment from preschool to upper secondary level
