SHANGHAI, May 27 — Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) graduates should consider furthering their tertiary studies in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) fields, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

The National TVET Committee chairman said he made the recommendation after considering the country’s need to produce more skilled workforce in the future.

"I congratulate the over 11,000 SPM graduates who achieved excellent results in all subjects. However, not all SPM graduates could score straight As...the world didn’t end and many academic opportunities are available.

"They could enter the professional field, but what’s more important is that our country needs skilled workers and TVET is the answer,” he told the Malaysian media here today.

He added that parents were now more open about encouraging their children to take up TVET courses, attracted by premium salaries and a brighter future career offered in the TVET sector.

"This is because they (TVET students) won’t stop in the education field after starting their careers. Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) and some (universities) of the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN), for instance, offer degree courses without requiring excellent SPM (results).

"We have arranged several special courses, with 70 per cent of the learning conducted in workshops and labs, with only 30 per cent in lecture rooms and this is very attractive to some students,” he added. — Bernama