SELECTED technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry (KKDW) have achieved full employability by aligning their training with the workforce needs of companies and industries.

Deputy Prime Minister and KKDW Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said employers were consulted before the relevant programmes were introduced to ensure that their content matched available jobs.

“What we do is consult companies and industry players before introducing the courses,” he said after the send-off ceremony for the TVET@KKDW contingent to WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 in Kuala Lumpur today.

He added that the approach allowed institutions to prepare students for specific occupations rather than offering courses without a clear pathway into the labour market.

“The programmes conducted by the relevant TVET institutions are aligned with the jobs available in the industries or companies concerned,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid said the employability rate for the industry-linked programmes had reached 100%, with some trainees receiving job offers before completing their studies.

He added that employers were also offering premium salaries for specialised skills, reducing the likelihood that graduates would enter jobs paying only the minimum wage.

“Job offers begin to come in before the trainees complete their courses, which means there is no issue of course mismatch, minimum-wage employment or a lack of job opportunities,” he said.

The 100% figure refers to the programmes discussed by Ahmad Zahid during the press conference and is higher than the overall national TVET graduate employability rate of 95.9% recorded in 2025.

Malaysia had 459,558 students enrolled in TVET last year, while 229,121 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and equivalent school-leavers, or 56.86%, chose the vocational pathway.

Ahmad Zahid said KKDW would continue concentrating on high-technology courses with strong employment prospects as industries increasingly require workers with advanced technical capabilities.

The ministry is also advancing its TVET 2.0 agenda, which covers digital transformation, intelligent automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, high-technology expertise and green skills.

Under the agenda, KKDW aims to produce graduates who are not only able to operate machinery but can also develop technology, perform data analysis and solve complex industrial problems.

The ministry’s TVET ecosystem includes institutions under MARA, Universiti Kuala Lumpur and GIATMARA, which are among those represented in the Malaysian contingent heading to WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

Nine participants from KKDW institutions will compete in fashion technology, car painting, electronics, cybersecurity, rail vehicle technology, cabinet making, digital construction, electrical installations and mechanical engineering computer-aided design.

They form part of Malaysia’s 22-member contingent competing in 21 skills at the global competition in Shanghai from Sept 22 to 27.

by AKMAR ANNUAR