LETTERS: Malaysia needs a highly skilled workforce to fill the current gap between supply and demand across various industries, particularly those driving readiness for economic transformation towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Recently, the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers reported that the manufacturing sector needs an additional 600,000 foreign workers this year to restore business output to pre-pandemic levels.
Nordin Abdul Malek, executive chairman of the Agro-Entrepreneur Institute, stated that the problem of labour shortage in the plantation sector, particularly oil palm, resulted in losses of up to RM10 billion last year and has yet to be resolved.
Employers are indeed facing difficulties finding locals to fill unskilled manpower shortages. In fact, some laid-off Malaysians are competing with migrant workers over 3D (dangerous, dirty and difficult) jobs.
To address the issue of reliance on migrant workers, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has suggested that Malaysia shift its emphasis from academic education to technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
According to the mid-term review of the 11th Malaysia Plan 2016-2020, access to vocational training is effective in reducing unemployment and improving people's living standards.
The unemployment rate fell from 3.4 per cent in 2017 to 2.8 per cent in 2020. The living standard of households in the bottom 40 (B40) per cent income group improved as the poverty rate fell from 7.6 per cent (2017) to 5.6 per cent (2019).
TVET must either step up or fade into insignificance. The skills gap makes it difficult for individuals to find jobs and employers to hire appropriately trained personnel.
The TVET system plays an important role in expediting the smooth matching of skills desired by employers with skills offered by workers.
Junichi Mori, chief technical adviser of the ILO-UK Skills for Prosperity programme in Malaysia, cited data from the Higher Education Ministry to show that TVET and skills training graduates outperformed those with higher education degrees in terms of employment opportunities.
As per the 2019 statistics, polytechnic graduates had the highest percentage of employment at 81.2 per cent, followed by vocational college graduates at 76.7 per cent, community college graduates at 74.4 per cent, and those from other public skills training institutions at between 57.1 and 71.4 per cent, compared with 62.8 per cent for those from tertiary education institutions.
This indicates that skills training certificates such as the Malaysian Skills Certificate Levels 1 to 5 are viable options for advancing employment.
If TVET programmes were relevant to current and future industry needs, they could help reduce skill mismatches and increase employment opportunities.
Since there are gaps in current technical skills required for IR4.0, it is recommended that TVET institutions restructure the software learning process and knowledge structures to master big data technologies.
There is a need to update the national accreditation for TVET as a means to ensure that quality graduates are able to meet the needs of industry, earn a decent wage and create their own jobs.
Governnent support is needed to raise awareness of the TVET benefits by showing not only the high percentage of employment available, but also what type of jobs they can obtain and how to develop their careers and skills.
Hopefully, the labour market information analysis platform that the government has developed as an initiative under the 12th Malaysia Plan will provide better information on career prospects.
The long-term career and income progress of vocational training graduates must be ensured. People will be reluctant to prioritise TVET over higher education if prospects for career advancement and income growth are not very clear.
As part of the TVET institution, the Manpower Department initiated an international strategic plan to formulate a combination of technology, innovation, incentives and experience to produce market-ready graduates.
This year, the department will collaborate with the World Bank Malaysia, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Embassy of Japan, Dongyang Mirae University South Korea and Yantai Vocational College China. It was part of the department's strategy to raise the international profile of Malaysian TVET education.
It will also work with the European Union through the Vocational Education and Training toolbox programme to develop a vocational training framework for the B40 group.
SHAKIB AHMAD SHAKIR
Director-general
DR RODZIAH MOHD RODZI
Special officer, Manpower Department, Human Resources Ministry
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times