KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — The Higher Education Ministry (MoHE) has invited all industry players to assist it in developing the best Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme in the future.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the approach is the best platform for industry players to fill the job market as the best talent could be found through such a partnership.

"Come and bring along all your skills, expertise, experience and technology. Share with us through our universities in the country.

"This is an important matter as no industry is safe or can be resilient without a stable and adequate supply of talent. Our universities and training providers have advantages, knowledge and useful research that can benefit the industries,” he said in his speech officiating the Sime Darby Foundation TVET Day 2023 celebrations today, in the presence of Finance Ministry Treasury secretary-general Datuk Johan Mahmood @ Johan Mahmood Merican and Sime Darby Berhad group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson.

Jeffry said during the event that the foundation had provided scholarships worth more than RM360 million to over 5,400 students and awarded over RM37 million to support TVET education in Malaysia through the YSD Skill Enrichment Bursary Programme since its inception in 1982.

The foundation offered these bursaries via TVET collaborations with various partners and through those collaborations, its scholars attained vocational and technical skills which were internationally recognised, he added.

"I am very proud to say that 100 per cent of the foundation’s TVET bursary recipients have secured jobs after graduation and many of them are hired within the Sime Darby companies, which is a great endorsement of the quality of their skills,” Jeffri said.

The foundation also announced today that it would commit an additional RM29.7 million from 2023 to 2028 under the TVET Bursaries Programme, having committed RM37.4 million in scholarships, propelling 1,412 talented individuals on their vocational education journeys since 2007. — Bernama

Sarawak minister: 3,708 telco towers built in state thus far

KUCHING, May 30 — A total of 3,708 telecommunications towers have been built throughout Sarawak thus far, according to the state Utility and Telecommunication Minister, Datuk Julaihi Narawi.

He said the towers were built by various parties, including the Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), through the state Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication (SMART) initiative, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) via the National Digital Network (Jendela) initiative.

Julaihi said these towers were also part of the 7,000 towers which Sarawak needed to achieve comprehensive coverage.

"Both SMART and Jendela towers are planned and built to complement each other throughout Sarawak’s rural areas,” he said in a statement here today.

Meanwhile, Julaihi said that the construction of towers under the SMART initiative, which consists of various heights and designs, faced various challenges.

One of the main challenges, he said, was the location of settlements in rural areas which are isolated and scattered, as well as rural areas which receive less response from telecommunication service providers.

"All the first phase SMART towers are expected to be fully operational or ‘on-air’ in the third quarter of this year.

"At the same time, the second phase of the SMART tower, which involves the construction of 300 towers, is being actively implemented in various stages, and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2024,” he said. — Bernama