Akhbar : Bernama | Tarikh : 29 Ogos 2013

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 29 (Bernama) -- In the  past, greater emphasis used to be given to academic excellence than vocational skills as academic line was viewed as the gateway to a better future.

No wonder that parents, educators and the general public alike used to pit children against one another in the race for academic success. Children with proven academic potential used to be primed and polished with great fervour while those not so academically inclined used to find themselves left behind.

However, for a nation to develop its economy, it needs not only a human capital comprising the academically excellent but also those who are highly-skilled as well.

Taking cognisant of this, now there is more emphasis on imparting skills training through Technical Education and Vocational Training (TEVT) institutes in the country.

The move proved to be a good one and has helped the country today boast of having built a human capital pool of highly-skilled youth.

The Director-General of Skills Development at the Human Resources Ministry, Datuk Dr Pang Chau Leong said the country has adopted high skills training standards.

SKILLS PROVIDE BETTER CAREER OPTIONS

In fact, career options for skilled workers were also better than for those in the field of academics.

Among the sectors that need skilled and energetic force are transportation, equipment and machinery industries, construction, building, biotechnology, information communication technology, electrical and electronics as well as telecommunications and broadcasting.

The services for which skilled workers are required include the areas of electrical works, welding, foundry, industrial equipment operations, computer numerical control assembling and machine operations.

"We want people to change their perception about skills training. The old mindset was that there was no future in skills. But of the 3.3 million job opportunities that would be created by 2020, about 40 per cent would require high skills and vocational training," said Pang.

Besides feeding the needs of the industrial sector of a country moving towards a developed status, those with world-class skill sets could also attract foreign investors into high technology fields.

In fact, highly skilled workers could also help propel the country towards its goal of becoming a high-income nation.

Malaysia also regularly sends youths to participate in world-class skills competitions.

Pang said the participation in international competitions such as the World Skills Competition.

(WSC) and Asean Skills Competition (ASC) helps benchmark the standard of technical and vocational education in Malaysia while helping fill the gaps in training.

"This is because such competitions allow us to compete with contestants from developed nations.

We have gone past the developing nation stage, and are now moving towards becoming a developed nation," he said.

The country's involvement in such competitions also helps provide due recognition to skill-based competencies while acknowledging bright job prospects in the field.

CHOOSING A VOCATION

There are over a thousand recognised skills training centres in Malaysia. The Department of Skills Development, Malaysia, monitors and regulates the standards of such centres so that the quality of human capital produced in these meets the market demands.

This is very essential as changing market needs require keeping constant tabs on the market pulse, and accordingly tweak training curricula, techniques and strategies.

The centres also provide youths and those leaving secondary schools information that would help them decide their career paths based on their areas of interest. The department also makes available such information on its website www.iwant2b.com.my.

Also, several tests are conducted onsite to help the students assess their abilities and venture further. The site, which has been planned with the young generation in mind, also offers personality tests to help them decide on career choices suited to them.

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