KUALA LUMPUR: The Rural and Regional Development Ministry will strengthen its efforts in upgrading the economic state of youth in rural areas, including facilities upgrades and providing job opportunities.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the ministry had outlined eight main strategies involving 16 programmes for youth empowerment in rural areas.
"Youths are an important asset for the country's development as a whole. Hence, the ministry has come up with several initiatives aimed at increasing their income, career skills training, and a start-right programme.
"This also includes the strengthening of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), where several courses have been introduced under the programme such as TVET junior, Tahfiz, digitalisation, entrepreneurship and other courses in line with the industry's demand," he said in Dewan Rakyat today.
Zahid who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said this in response to Parit Sulong member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad on the changes made by the government to improve the youth's economic state in the rural areas.
He added that the ministry was also working with related ministries, departments, agencies and firms to ensure quality talents and graduates were produced.
He said TVET graduates and talent demands stood at 90.4 per cent based on the industry's demands.
Last week, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government would address the issue of talent mismatch in the TVET programme.
To do this, Anwar said certain Malaysian corporations would be allowed to make procurements when handling the TVET programme in the related states.
For example, Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) will be handling TVET in Pengerang, Johor, to train and use their expertise in training the students in meeting the industry's expectations.
Anwar said the cabinet committee chaired by Zahid would identify some of these private companies to address this mismatch issue, or (to identify) industries that did not require practical training.