KUANTAN: The Government should allocate more grants for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) under 2020 Budget to produce more quality training programmes to fulfil industry needs.
Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) vice-chancellor Professor Dr Wan Azhar Wan Yusoff said the development of talents in digital, engineering and emerging technologies, which TVET emphasises, was vital to prepare the country in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) era.
He said there was also a need for more collaborations between educational and technical institutions, and the industry, to ensure there was no mismatch of skills and qualifications, which will have a direct impact on the future of employment.
“More allocations are certainly needed to further boost the quality of TVET, help meet industry needs and facilitate technology transfer (university to community) programmes,” he said, when commenting on expectations in the education sector for 2020 Budget.
Wan Azhar said the government had consistenly provided support for TVET, especially in setting up specialised skills training entities such as the Industrial Training Institute, National Youth Skills Institute, National Skills Institute, Vocational College and private skills training institutions that provide funds to train skilled and semi-skilled workers, mostly at certificate and diploma levels.
"The government recognises the need for high level skills by introducing specific funds such as TVET Wibawa Funds and the TVET-related Bootcamp Programme to increase youth competency," he added.
Meanwhile, Wan Azhar said being a technical university, UMP will ensure the network of university programmes is further enhanced through the Malaysia Partnerships and Alliances in Research (MyPAIR) initiative in strengthening Malaysia's research through joint industry and international research collaborations.
UMP, along with Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, comes under the Malaysian Technical University Network.