Regional Conference on Human Resource Development Through TVET as a Development Strategy in Asia 2-3 August 2011 Colombo SRI

LANKA

Key Reforms in Revitalising Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Malaysia

Dr. Pang Chau Leong Department of Skills Development, Ministry of Human Resources, Malaysia

Contents

Page

Abstract 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 Introduction Current Status of TVET in Malaysia Revisiting the TVET Framework Conclusion References

3 4 4 7 10 11

ABSTRACT

Malaysia has embarked on various initiatives to propel the country towards its goal of becoming a high income and developed economy by 2020. The cornerstone of this aspiration is the availability of highly skilled human capital, the lack of which has hindered the nations endeavour to move out from the middle income trap, into a high income economy. In this context, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) plays a pivotal role in providing the skilled workforce required for the countrys economic transformation. The full potential of the national TVET system in Malaysia, however, has been hampered by the perception that it mainly caters to the less academically-qualified and does not represent careers of choice. It is also handicapped by a largely fragmented TVET delivery system. Amongst recent measures to revitalize the national TVET system include raising its profile, rationalizing its framework and structure, improving its quality and performance, as well as scaling-up private skills training provision.

1.0

INTRODUCTION

For Malaysia to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging global environment and to become a high-income nation by the year 2020, it is imperative that it embarks on an integrated approach which involves government and economic transformation programmes. These programmes attach great importance on intensifying human resource development in order to produce a workforce which is well-equipped to face a competitive global market. Malaysia currently has a workforce of about 12 million, of which only about 28 percent are highly-skilled, whilst 60 percent are employed in small and medium-sized enterprises (Malaysia, 2010; NEAC, 2010). The Economic Transformation Programme which is introduced in 2010 is projected to create 3.3 million new job openings by 2020, of which at least 40 percent is expected to require technical and vocational education and training (TVET) qualifications (PEMANDU,2010). Consequently, TVET has been regarded as one of the most critical drivers for the countrys transformation from a middle- to high-income nation. In this paper, the conceptual definition of TVET cuts across post-primary, secondary, and tertiary educational levels, and all sectors including formal or school-based, enterprise-based, informal or even apprenticeship.

2.0

CURRENT STATUS OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN MALAYSIA

2.1

Background of TVET in Malaysia

TVET in Malaysia could be traced back to the late 1890s when trade schools were being considered to prepare local youths to work as mechanics and fitters on the national railways. In 1906, a technical school was established to train technical assistants for the Railways and Public Works Department (Maznah, 2001). In 1919, the government set up a committee to review the needs for technical and industrial education, and it put forward measures which included establishing an agricultural school and providing training facilities for the Forest Department (Loh, 1975). In 1926, a Federal Trade School was established in Kuala Lumpur to provide full-time three-year courses to train mechanics, fitters, machine workers and other technicians (Ahmad, 2003; Loh, 1975). The Education Department took over the school in 1931 to serve the needs of public departments as well as business enterprises such as mines, estates and private firms. Later, three other trade schools were built in Penang, Ipoh and Singapore (part of Malaya at that time) to prepare apprentices as artisans in trades such as mechanics, plumbers, fitters, electricians and blacksmiths. These developments marked the expansion of institutionalised vocational training in Malaya which was geared to meet the needs of the countrys industry. In 1955, two years before Malaya gained her independence, the government set up an Education Committee to review the existing education system and to formulate a new system for postindependence Malaya. The committee published the Razak report in 1956 which promoted the policy of establishing a vocational stream alongside the general secondary school system (Wong & Ee, 1975). In 1960, the Rahman Talib Report led to the segregation of the secondary school system into academic and vocational streams (MOE, 2007). Junior technical (trade) schools were converted to secondary trade schools which were later converted to secondary vocational schools in 1968. In 1979, another high-powered committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister at that time, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, led to the Cabinet Report of 1979 which reaffirmed that the countrys upper secondary education should comprise of both academic and vocational streams. Based on a review of historical developments, Ahmad (2003) observed that the Malaysian

TVET had progressively developed into three different streams, namely higher education; technical and vocational education; and skills training (refer Table 1).

Stream or Pathway 1. Higher education

Institutions

Workforce Preparation

Universities and other Professional and managerial institutions of higher learning, personnel such as engineers, both public and private architects, and surveyors. 2. Technical and Polytechnics, technical Supervisory personnel such as vocational colleges and (more recently) technical assistants and education community colleges supervisors. 3. Vocational skills Skills training institutions, Skilled and semi-skilled workers. training public and private Source: Paraphrased and tabulated from Ahmad (2003, p.6)

Table 1: Main Streams of the Education and Training System in Malaysia.

A similar description of the Malaysian education and training system was made by Rashid & Nasir (2003), who highlighted demarcations between: (a) Tertiary or higher education in universities and other higher educational institutions; (b) Technical and vocational education undertaken largely in the formal school system under the Ministry of Education; and (c) Post-secondary TVET, including skills training, undertaken through the skills stream of the secondary vocational schools but predominantly by public and private skills training institutions. Several other studies have highlighted that skills training based on National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS) had increasingly become a significant component of the national system (Pang, 2008; 2010). The Basic Study on Designing a Dual Training Scheme in Malaysia undertaken from 1997 to 1999 by a large team of German consultants, described the Malaysian system, excluding tertiary and higher education, in terms of three subsystems (Blumenstein, et al, 1999): 1st subsystem: Technical education and vocational training undertaken in schools at the upper secondary level under the Ministry of Education (MOE). It was completely integrated into the general education system, leading to the Malaysian Certificate of Education as the leaving qualification. 2nd subsystem: Technical and vocational training that did not come under the MOE but were administered by other Federal Ministries such as the Ministry of Human Resources, Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Ministry of Entrepreneurial Development as well as private training institutions. 3rd subsystem: The standardisation and certification of occupational skills based on the National Occupational Skill Standards and Certification System. It started with a three-level skill certification system (basic, intermediate and advanced) but in 1992, a new 5-level skills qualification framework was introduced, followed by the adoption of an accreditation approach in 1993. The accreditation of training centres and their training courses was conducted by the National Vocational Training Council.

Another study known as the Strategic Review of Technical Education and Skills Training in Malaysia was undertaken by Australian consultants as part of an Asian Development Bank technical assistance project (DEETYA, 1998, p.1). The study confirmed that vocational education under the purview of the MOE was one major component of the countrys TVET system whilst training conducted by the other ministries and agencies based on NOSS formed the other major component. A more recent study undertaken on behalf of the World Bank by Pillay (2005) categorised Malaysias TVET system into five main pillars, which are outlined below:
st

1 pillar: Public higher education system which caters mainly to SPM school-leavers, that is those who do not take up pre-university studies; excludes universities and university colleges, but includes polytechnics and community colleges under the Ministry of Higher Education, technical schools under the Ministry of Education as well as training institutions under the Ministry of Human Resources, Ministry of Entrepreneurial Development and Ministry of Youth & Sports.
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2 pillar: Malaysian Skills Qualifications Framework, a five-tiered skills certification system based on the NOSS which was introduced by the National Vocational Training Council in 1993.
rd

3 pillar: Company-based training, which comes under the Human Resource Development Fund established in 1993 to promote the training of employees.
th

4 pillar: Private higher education, largely under the purview of the Private Higher Education Institutions Act 1996, and accredited by the National Accreditation Board.
th

5 pillar: Continuing education and training which caters to the demands of employers, community or society at large for further education, skills upgrading, retraining, career advancement and enrichment.

2.2

Policy Framework for TVET

Malaysias national development policies and plans have repeatedly emphasized the criticality of human resource development in supporting the countrys growth. This is clearly embodied in the Malaysia: The Way Forward statement in 1991 which challenges the country to achieve developed nation status by 2020 (Mahathir, 1991): The most important resource of any nation must be the talents, skills, creativity and will of its people Our people are our ultimate resource. The Third Outline Perspective Plan (OPP3), 2001-2010, emphasizes the need for a fundamental realignment in the policies and strategies of human resource development in order to support the countrys shift towards a knowledge-based economy (Malaysia, 2001a). Under the OPP3, the education and training priorities include: (a) introducing a new dual training approach; and (b) promoting lifelong learning. In the previous national five-year development plan, the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), 20062010, the Malaysian Government presented the National Mission that outlined the countrys priorities for the next 15 years. One of the five key policy thrusts of the National Mission was to raise the capacity for knowledge and innovation and nurture first class mentality (Malaysia, 2006a, p.30). Its main focus was to expand the accessibility and quality of the countrys education and training system, through redesigning training programmes in line with changing industry requirements. Under the 9MP, a new National Dual Training System was introduced through consultations with stakeholders including industry associations, and a national committee known as the Cabinet Committee on Human

Capital Development was established to guide policies and strategies related to education and training. In the current Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP), 2011-2015, TVET continues to be considered as critical for supporting the countrys economic development. Four policy guidelines have been put forward to mainstream and elevate access to quality TVET in Malaysia: (a) Improving the perception of TVET and attracting more trainees, through more intensive national media campaign; (b) Upgrading and harmonising TVET curriculum quality in line with industry requirements, by initiatives which include standardising TVET curriculum, recognising the national skills qualification, and establishing a new Malaysian Board of technologists; (c) Developing highly effective instructors, including to establish a new Centre for Instructor and Advanced Skills Training; and (d) Streamlining the delivery of TVET, including to review the current funding approach of TVET and to undertake performance ratings of TVET institutions.

3.0
3.1

REVISITING THE TVET FRAMEWORK

Transforming the Malaysian Economy

Four (4) main thrusts have been put in place to transform Malaysia into a high income by 2020, namely the New Economic Model; the Government Transformation Programme; the Economic Transformation Programme; and the Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP). New Economic Model (NEM) The main goal of the NEM is to increase countrys per capita gross national income from USD6,700 or RM23,700 in 2009 to at least USD15,000 or RM48,000 by 2020 (PEMANDU, 2010). It is also premised on the principles of inclusiveness, enabling all communities to fully benefit from the wealth of the country, and sustainability, to meet present needs without compromising future generations. The NEM embarks on 8 strategic reform initiatives which seek to put the Malaysian economy on a stronger footing (NEAC, 2010): (a) Re-energising the private sector; (b) Developing a quality workforce and reducing dependency of foreign workers; (c) Creating a competitive domestic economy; (d) Strengthening of the public sector; (e) Transparent and market friendly affirmative action; (f) Building the knowledge-based infrastructure; (g) Enhancing the sources of growth; and (h) Ensuring sustainability of growth. Government Transformation Programme (GTP) The GTP was introduced in 2010 to transform the Governments effectiveness in the delivery of services. It incorporates six National Key Result Areas: Reducing crime; fighting corruption; improving education outcomes; raising living standards of low-income households; improving rural basic infrastructure; and improving urban public transport (PEMANDU, 2010) Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) The Economic Transformation Programme is a comprehensive effort to propel Malaysias annual real growth target of about 6 percent can be achieved in the next 10 years (PEMANDU, 2010). The projects and initiatives identified in the ETP are expected to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy with a Gross National Income of RM1.7 trillion in 2010 compared to RM660 billion in 2009. To achieve this, the ETP focuses on 12 National Key Economic Areas where Malaysia has distinct competitive advantages. To date, 131 Entry Point Projects have been identified for

implementation. These projects are expected to create 3.3 million new jobs, of which 60 percent will be in the middle-income and high-income bracket. Tenth Malaysia Plan (10MP), 2011-2015 In Malaysia, only 10 percent of students enrol in upper secondary technical and vocational streams. In addition, more than 100,000 school-leavers join the labour market annually, after 11 years of formal schooling without pursuing further education or training. Consequently, there is a huge opportunity for TVET providers to attract school-leavers to take up TVET. During the Plan period of 2011-2015, the focus is to improve the value proposition and attractiveness of TVET to prospective students, providers and industry. A national media campaign is being rolled-out to improve public awareness and perception of TVET as well as to re-brand TVET as an attractive career option. In addition, the 10MP emphasises the development of highly effective TVET instructors and provision of more flexible pathways of entry into the profession by experienced industry personnel. A new Centre for Instructors and Advanced Skills Training is also being established. On standards and curriculum development, the Department of Skills Development has been designated as the agency to develop and standardise TVET curriculum, and to ensure that the curriculum meets industry requirements and is aligned with national economic priorities. To enhance standardisation and recognition of TVET certification, the Malaysian Skills Certification will be adopted as the national certification, whilst a new Malaysian Board of Technologists will be established to accelerate the professional development of TVET qualification-holders. On streamlining the delivery of TVET, the current funding approach is under review in order to shift it towards demand and performance-based approach. Towards this end, a system has been developed to rate the performance of public and private TVET institutions.

3.2

Key Issues and Challenges

Poor perception and recognition of TVET TVET in Malaysia has always been considered by the public at large, and parents, as the career choice for the less academically-qualified. This perception has been aggravated by the lower academic requirements stipulated for admission into TVET programmes and the limited prospects for further educational and professional development of TVET graduates. The societal stigma of TVET has also been created by the impression that the primary objective of vocational education and training is to cater for school drop-outs, rather than as an important strategy to train skilled workers for the employment market and for sustainable livelihoods. In addition, TVET-based qualifications and careers are still poorly perceived and recognised in the workplace. Many employers do not recognise the certification due to the highly fragmented landscape, with many ministries and agencies issuing certifications.

Multiplicity of provision, certification, standards and curricula TVET provision in Malaysia is undertaken by different ministries, agencies and organisations, both public and private, with a multiplicity of certification, standards and curricula. The various TVET providers often operate as silos and do not taking into account programme offerings in the broader context, resulting in overlapping courses and institutions as well as creating confusion for students and employers. This situation has implications for the standardization of training and qualification, cost-effectiveness, quality assurance, recognition of prior learning, and the further education of TVET graduates. The current governance structure still lacks effective coordination, sharing of resources, and articulation within the overall system. There is also no single oversight body to provide overview of TVET landscape. The diverse TVET management structures and the sharing of supervisory responsibilities by various government bodies and ministries account for some of the inefficiencies in

the system like duplication and segmentation of training, and the absence of a common platform for developing coherent policies and joint initiatives.

Weak monitoring and evaluation Although fundamentally designed to meet observed or projected labour market demands, the current TVET programmes in Malaysia are largely supply-driven and still lack giving emphasis to match training to available jobs. Training institutions also seldom track the employment destination of their graduates. Consequently, the institutions have not taken advantage feedback from past trainees on the quality of the training they have received to improve their curricula and training packages. In short, the implementation of outcome evaluation and tracer studies that can improve the market responsiveness of training programmes is still lacking. Lacking in efficiency and quality In general, TVET provision in Malaysia is still largely concentrated on lower-level skills qualification whereby more than 70 percent of graduates are at Malaysian Skills Certificates, Levels 1 and 2. Although, TVET Institutions are running at high operating levels, many are not yet operating at full capacity. The overall funding structure also does not fully support quality and performance of TVET providers.

3.3
3.3.1

Recent Measures for Revitalising the TVET System

Raising the profile and acceptance of TVET

The SkillsMalaysia re-branding exercise was announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia on 11 January 2011 as an Entry-Point Project under the Economic Transformation Programme to make TVET a popular choice for, and more appealing to, school-leavers and workers alike. A national media and promotion campaign was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister on 5 May 2011campaign to emphasise the career prospects and advantages of a TVET qualification in order to lift the society stigma associated with TVET and to roll-out a series of road shows throughout the country to provide information and create awareness on opportunities in the TVET sector.

3.3.2

Rationalising TVET framework and structure

Involvement of many ministries and agencies in the TVET sector, with multiple certification levels, standards and students funding model has created complexity in the sector. The limited cooperation between different ministries and agencies leaves little flexibility for students to move to higher levels across institutes. In the private sector, TVET institutes are generally small and offer lower certifications. In addition, most students entering the stream find it difficult to proceed to higher levels of education and qualification because the TVET pathway has been largely developed for the less academically-qualified. There is clearly the need to re-define involvement of ministries and agencies in order to remove silos and rationalise the diverse curricula and funding approaches. A new governance structure is being considered to provide oversight and coordinate across all related ministries and agencies, over maters which include curriculum development, performance, planning of provisioning and fund allocation. It is also important to make the TVET pathway more attractive for further learning and professional opportunities as well as to provide flexibility for students to articulate across different providers.

3.3.3

Scaling-up private skills training provision

To support the countrys Economic Transformation Programme, seven (7) key initiatives under the National Key Economic Area for Education have been put in place: Promoting closer links with industry; harmonising skills training by regulatory reform; increasing availability of demand-side funding; conducting awareness campaign; articulating the professional pathway; increasing the number of qualified instructors; and assisting providers in attracting foreign students. To strengthen links with industry, industry lead bodies are being identified to guide TVET development in each skills sector. Measures to harmonise skills training include establishing a new Malaysian Board of Technologists, whilst the Skills Development Fund has been made available to increase access to quality training courses in high-performing training providers. Various efforts have been taken to articulate the professional pathway for TVET by allowing the Malaysian Skills Certificates to progress to selected degree programmes. To increase the number of qualified TVET instructors, qualified and experienced industry personnel have been fast-tracked to become TVET instructors. Efforts are currently underway to market SkillsMalaysia internationally and to review related regulations and procedures in order to attract foreign students to enrol into Malaysias TVET systems.

4.0

CONCLUSIONS

Malaysia aspires to attain the developed nation status by the year 2020. It has also geared itself towards moving up the value chain to become a high income economy. A skilled workforce is critical to achieving this goal. With the introduction of the New Economic Model and Economic Transformation Programme, demand for skilled workforce is expected to outgrow supply. By 2020, an additional 3.3 million jobs will be created, of which 1.3 million will require TVET qualifications. Many issues currently faced by key stakeholders need to be addressed including: For students, TVET is currently not a mainstream education option and typically not a viable alternative to entering the workforce as it does not provide clear educational and professional pathways; TVET providers are somewhat confused with the fragmented TVET landscape with numerous providers from various ministries resulting in multiple qualifications systems and non-uniform curricula standards; and employers, at large, still do not fully recognize and give commensurate value to TVET qualifications. Consequently, the national TVET system requires to be transformed in terms of its efficiency, quality and performance in order to equip the countrys workforce with the competencies required for a competitive and knowledge-based economy. In this regard, a comprehensive set of initiatives have been developed, encompassing: (a) Rebranding TVET to mainstream and improve perception of TVET; (b) Rationalising and streamlining the TVET sector in terms of its provisioning, operating model and funding structure; and (c) Scaling up private skills training provision in order to develop a more vibrant TVET industry in Malaysia.

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5.0

REFERENCES

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countries: Malaysia. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Rashid & Nasir (2003). Lifelong learning in Malaysia. Paper presented at the International Policy Seminar, 24-26 June, Seoul, Korea.
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