THE Pakatan Harapan government needs to do much if it wishes to make technical and vocational education (TVET) on a par with the conventional academic stream and the first choice for parents and students.  

It needs to overhaul the present TVET system made up of about 1,000 public and private providers, said government-linked think-tank Khazanah Research Institute (KRI).

A new study on youth unemployment has found that despite the former government’s attention to and considerable investment in TVET, it is not as popular as an education pathway compared with conventional academic streams.

Currently, only 13% of secondary school pupils are in technical and vocational school while only 9% of tertiary students are enrolled in a polytechnic, KRI found in its study on youth employment.

“Yet the education blueprint emphasises TVET as essential to the needs of the labour market and the economy,” said KRI in the study School-to-Work Transitions of Young Malaysians (SWTS).

“The study also found that jobseekers and young workers consider TVET as the most useful qualification for getting a job.”    

To overhaul the TVET system, the government needs to gather the many institutions under one body to ensure strategic coordination.

Knowing and meeting industry needs

“There needs to be a demand-driven approach by closely working with industry to know what skills the labour market needs,” the study said, adding that the government needs to streamline standards and qualifications.

The KRI study proposed the government consider adopting as a model the renowned German dual-training system where young people are educated and practise their skills in a real work environment.

A significant finding is that after years of continued emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, less than half of the pupils are in these streams. 

The government has targeted a 60:40 science to arts ratio since the 1970s.

“The SWTS study shows that only a third of upper secondary school students are taking science subjects, 44% additional mathematics, and only 32% of tertiary students are enrolled in STEM courses.”

Researchers agree that interest in STEM can be nurtured from a young age, said KRI.

To kindle interest in these courses, more “maker spaces” should be created in primary schools and kindergartens for the pupils to discover and explore the subjects.

“Maker spaces are creative spaces where students can explore, tinker, discover and create. In these spaces, students learn how to tinker collaboratively with a problem and to keep trying until they find a solution.

“Maker spaces support hands-on learning and exploration. They are often associated with STEM education.” – December 13, 2018.