KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 ― The National TVET Council (MTVET) was set up to improve coordination of the country's technical and vocational education and training (TVET) ecosystem, in an effort to ensure its route as a national agenda, said Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad.

Through her official Facebook post, Noraini said three strategic thrusts, namely integrated and coordinated governance, industry-driven TVET and TVET shaping the future, as well as 12 empowerment strategies have been outlined to empower TVET as a national agenda.

In addition, six key initiatives have been tabled to set the direction for TVET's empowerment agenda, namely formulating sustainable financing models, developing policies to encourage industry participation, creating the National TVET Branding Plan, establishing the TVET Collaboration Hub, establishing TVET programme policies and developing TVET Big Data.

"Strategic collaboration across ministries, supported by industry involvement will be implemented continuously, to ensure that educational institutions will be able to plan and train students with knowledge and skills that meet industry needs,” she said.

Noraini said the ministry has also presented two papers to set the direction for national TVET policy formulation, namely the National TVET Council: New Mandate of TVET Empowerment Agenda and Technical and Vocational Education and Training Empowerment Agenda, at the MTVET meeting yesterday.

She said the inaugural meeting held online, was chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and attended by Cabinet ministers and industry representatives.

Apart from industry figures and academic representatives who are also strategic partners in sharing data, expertise, technology, new knowledge and significant research for the benefit of policy makers and TVET practitioners, the council comprised members from various other ministries and agencies.

Through the posting she also informed that the governance structure of the council consists of three levels, namely the National TVET Council, MTVET Executive Committee and TVET Focus Group.

"The National TVET Council is chaired by the Prime Minister while the MTVET Executive Committee is co-chaired by the Higher Education Minister and Human Resources Minister, Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

The MTVET focus group is chaired by the Higher Education Ministry’s secretary-general, she added. ― Bernama