Yeoh: TVET courses need updating to meet present needs

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said that the ministry intends to improve the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses to cater to current youth’s interests and aspirations.

She said that many young people consider existing courses outdated and do not meet the present day’s economic situation.

“We are in a different economic situation, a more modern and digital era. Today’s youths have very different views compared to the old days so they think TVET courses are outdated.

“If you ask young people what they want to be now, they will tell you that they want to be YouTubers or influencers.

“So, if we keep making courses that are not interesting, then the participation for TVET will keep decreasing every year,” she told reporters at the National Youth Consultation Council in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur today.

Yeoh (above) stressed that it was important for all education and training programmes, besides TVET, to avoid being disconnected from the youth.

On the same matter, Yeoh suggested that TVET should only have a singular certificate rather than have accreditations from various regulatory agencies.

She acknowledged that many young people were confused by TVET as two regulatory agencies, namely the Department of Skills Development (JPK) and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), currently credit certificates based on the applied industries.

“Youths are confused and overwhelmed because TVET has too many different certificates for different industries.

“They struggle to know what kind of industry positions they might get based on their certifications and it’s also confusing for the employers who want to hire them,” she stated.

Yeoh referenced Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar who, on Jan 6, proposed that the Malaysian Skills Certification System (SPKM) be used as the country's single certification for TVET.

As such, she said that the two ministries intend to work together to push an initiative for the matter.

Additionally, the Segambut MP added that the Youth and Sports Ministry will look into opportunities to increase the funds for TVET.

“We are still finding the ways but I do hope we are able to pump in some funds for TVET to improve its quality,” she added.

Youth bankruptcy

Yeoh stated that the ministry was in the midst of discussions with the Finance Ministry, along with the Malaysian Department of Insolvency (MDI), to tackle youth bankruptcy.

“But we don’t want to hold awareness events or talks. We want immediate intervention, to quickly pull out young people from bankruptcy or from almost becoming bankrupt.

“Because thousands of people are already financially insecure at a young age. They will struggle to get jobs, purchase their own homes and open bank accounts.

“This is crucial for their livelihood but as of now, we are still discussing how to address this problem,” she concluded.

Last August, former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Ti Lian Ker revealed that there were 10,137 bankrupt youths from 2020 until June 2022 - based on data provided by the MDI.

He said that it was due to personal loans, car instalments, housing loans, credit card debt and education loans. - Mkini