Focus on skills, not certs, says Tok Mat

 

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan is calling for a different strategy in Malaysia’s education system as the country approaches the status of a high-income nation.

PETALING JAYA: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has called for a shift in the country’s higher education policy, specifically one that focuses on developing skills.

Mohamad said the world was now in the “skills over degree” era where skills and experience took precedence in the job market over academic certificates.

“Skills over degrees”, he said, was not in this context just technical or vocational skills.

It is more “wholesome, holistic and balanced,” and the current job market is in dire need of more multi-dimensional talents who are critical, creative, confident, articulate and result-oriented, among others.

Mohamad said a policy shift that emphasises on skill sets was crucial in addressing issues such as unemployability of graduates and the mismatch between university education and industrial demands.

“Students should be equipped with the skill sets that provide a balance between robust technical know-how, and strong human interactions skills,” Mohamad, more commonly known as Tok Mat, said in a statement.

He added that this kind of skill set was usually found in the workforce who had undergone liberal arts training.

Mohamad said that with Malaysia approaching a high-income nation status, the country should pursue a different strategy when it came to the education system.

“Failing to do so would cause an unsteady progress as education impacts the pool of skilled talents needed for Malaysia to become a developed nation.”- FMT