KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — A national policy to empower Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is being formulated and expected to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in February next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a national TVET secretariat comprising 10 experts in various fields was drawing up the policy, which will be tabled in the Cabinet for its views and approval.

"I am very serious about efforts to strengthen TVET education and will always be at the frontline to fulfil the objective of making TVET graduates the first choice of employers seeking skilled workers.

"This policy will cover various matters including the question of salary, and among the focus is that the minimum salary of TVET graduates should be RM3,000 a month,” he said.

He said this when speaking at the presentation of instruments of appointment to advisory members of the National Organisation of Skilled Workers and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Malaysia-China Youth TVET Training programme at Parliament building here today.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said an understanding on this had been reached with employers and industry players, including German companies operating in Malaysia.

"We made this agreement directly with employers and German companies operating in Malaysia, who in principle have agreed to the RM3,000 minimum salary after considering the skills possessed by TVET graduates,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also National TVET Council chairman, said there are more than 200 German companies operating in Malaysia.

He said this policy would make TVET graduates the most sought-after skilled workers by the end of 2030.

To ensure he stays closely involved in the formulation of the policy, the Cabinet has agreed to transfer the National TVET Secretariat operations from the Higher Education Ministry and Human Resources Ministry to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office.

On efforts to internationalise TVET, he said Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) had been directed to establish the Turkiye-Malaysia Institute, Korea-Malaysia Institute and China-Malaysia Institute in the country, similar to the long-established German-Malaysian Institute (GMI) campus.

He said this would give students more choices in fields of expertise and eradicate the negative perception held by society that TVET graduates were supposedly inferior.

At the ceremony, Ahmad Zahid witnessed the signing of the cooperation agreement between the National Organisation of Skilled Workers (PKPB) and Tang International Education (China) through the Malaysia-China Youth TVET Training (MCYT) Programme.

The MoU, which involved 11 training institutions accredited by the Human Resources Ministry Skills Development Department and Tang International, will see 2,000 skilled youths being sent to China next year for training in fields like automotive, animation and computer systems. — Bernama