By Mohd Khairi Idham Amran & Amiril Muttaqien Meketar
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- A comprehensive package combining post-training support and business starter kits could be key to ensuring that the RM8 billion allocated for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) across ministries under Budget 2027 delivers tangible results in poverty eradication.
The measure could transform TVET from a platform for skills training into a driver of socioeconomic change, empowering the B40 group to achieve greater economic independence and break out of the cycle of poverty.
Dr Khairul Anuar Abdul Rahman of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) said the support should encompass skills training, industry certification, equipment, business incubation and continuous mentoring to help participants apply their skills to secure employment or start their own businesses.
Citing a UTM initiative, the senior lecturer at the Department of Advanced Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Technology (FEST), said the university was implementing the “Empowerment of B40 Youth Economy through Air Conditioning System Service and Maintenance Training” project at the Melana Indah People’s Housing Project (PPR), targeting 20 unemployed youths from the B40 group or those working in the gig economy.
“Participants are not only trained in technical skills and assessed for an Industry Competency Certificate, but are also provided with a starter kit under a ‘Buddy System’, which allows them to share equipment in pairs,” he told Bernama.
Khairul Anuar said the approach was crucial in helping the B40 group overcome barriers to economic independence, particularly the lack of capital and equipment needed to turn their skills into income-generating opportunities.
He said the 18-month project also provides technical guidance, customer management training and community service activities, with a target of at least 80 per cent of participants achieving competency and 70 per cent generating their own income.
According to him, the model, which brings together universities, local authorities, industry and the community under the Quadruple Helix approach, could be extended to other fields, including care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (PwD).
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Dr Mohd Safarin Nordin of the same department said the effectiveness of the RM8 billion allocation would depend not only on the amount of funding disbursed, but also on the implementation mechanisms in place to ensure that the training offered met industry needs.
“From a TVET research and practice perspective, the success of this allocation hinges not merely on the amount of funding provided, but also on the effectiveness of its delivery mechanisms in bridging the skills gap between training institutions and industry,” he said.
Mohd Safarin said efforts should focus on four key areas, including industry-driven curriculum reform, better coordination among ministries through the National TVET Council (MTVET), and channelling Human Resource Development Corporation’s (HRD Corp) RM3 billion allocation towards developing future skills such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI).
Both experts stressed that TVET key performance indicators (KPIs) should go beyond the percentage of graduates and the number of certificates issued, with return on investment (ROI) assessed based on employability rates, starting salary increases and long-term career sustainability.
When tabling Budget 2027 in Parliament on Friday, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an RM8 billion allocation for TVET across ministries to strengthen skills development and improve youth employability.
Of the total allocation, RM3 billion has been set aside for HRD Corp to provide three million training opportunities, with programmes also supporting professionals’ ongoing skills development.
--BERNAMA