PUTRAJAYA, Feb 27 — The enhancement of a professional and competent workforce among Bumiputeras, based on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), is among the government’s focal points in strengthening TVET efforts, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also rural and regional development minister, said the focus includes increasing Bumiputera involvement in skilled careers, fostering the development of Bumiputera technopreneurs and boosting the income of skilled Huffaz (memorisers of the Quran).

"The empowerment of TVET as a primary career choice is crucial to meet the current and future labour market needs.

"As of now, there are 1,345 public and private TVET providers overseen by 12 ministries, including 24 state government TVET institutions offering certificate and diploma-level education and training,” he told Bernama in conjunction with the Bumiputera Economic Congress (KEB) 2024 scheduled to take place from February 29 to March 2.

Ahmad Zahid also expressed confidence that current TVET institutions are sufficient to accommodate student enrolments, while the need for additional TVET institutions depends on the enrolment of students from time to time.

Asked about the new areas in TVET that need to be pioneered, given the introduction of various new technologies, he stated that the national TVET education system will focus on new areas, including electric vehicles (EV), artificial intelligence (AI), communications and digital as well as solar energy.

""One of the approaches to be taken is to establish collaborations with foreign countries that have expertise in relevant fields, such as China, Japan and Germany.

"These collaborations will benefit local students by exposing them to new skills from foreign companies operating in Malaysia,” he said.

TVET is currently receiving serious attention from the government, with the National TVET Policy expected to be presented to the Cabinet in March before its launch on June 2 in conjunction with the National TVET Day.

Ahmad Zahid had previously said that the government plans to send Malaysian students to study TVET in China in line with the Look East Policy 2.0.

According to him, this plan is one of the government’s efforts to strengthen the country’s TVET after expressing the desire to send more Malaysian students to pursue this field in Japan and South Korea.

On February 14, during the pre-launch ceremony of KEB 2024, Ahmad Zahid said 10 clusters covering 10 sectors would be established in KEB 2024, namely Education and Human Capital Reform; TVET Institutions as the Primary Career Choice and Halal Industry Strengthening.

They are education reform and human capital; technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions as primary career choices; strengthening the halal industry; rural development and empowerment of Orang Asli communities; wealth creation and corporate mastery; Bumiputera enterprise competitiveness; new technology mastery; Felda and land development; Bumiputera socioeconomics in Sabah; and Bumiputera socioeconomics in Sarawak.

With the theme "Positive, Progressive, Innovative,” KEB 2024 is a key platform to take a more serious approach in strengthening the Bumiputera economy, especially in new technological aspects and futuristic plans for future generations.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday that KEB 2024 is among the important agendas of the Madani government to revamp and propel comprehensive socioeconomic development of Bumiputeras, enabling them to progress in a progressive and innovative manner. — Bernama