THE Higher Education Ministry has implemented five intervention initiatives to address the declining marketability of graduates during the Covid-19 pandemic period, it said in a statement today.

The ministry said the five initiatives were the KPT-career advancement programme (KPT-CAP), the teaching factory programme, the technical vocational education and training (TVET) transformation programme, flexible and micro-credential programmes, and mobility programmes.

According to the ministry, Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad mentioned the initiatives when speaking at the Education World Forum in London yesterday.

According to Noraini, based on the government’s graduate tracer study, it was found that the marketability of Malaysian graduates in 2020 dropped by 1.8% to 84.4% compared to 86.2% in 2019 and this was attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Noraini said the government had allocated RM150 million for the upskilling and reskilling programme, aimed at 20,000 graduates.

The programme is unique in that the participating companies guarantee employment for graduates at least 12 months after completing the programme, she added.

Noraini said Malaysia also implemented the Teaching Factory programme to ensure graduates were able to meet current demands and the job market.

She said the programme was currently run by four public universities specialising in high technology and practical courses.

These universities work with industry players to assist the teaching and learning process, training and services in related fields, she added.

She said the TVET transformation worked through the National TVET Council chaired by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“The role of the council is to advise the government on the current and future talents required by industries, as well as the technologies that need to be focused on at the university,” she said, adding that all the programmes were implemented to prevent a drop in the quality of higher education and the marketability of graduates. – Bernama, May 25, 2022.