SUNGAI BULOH: The government will introduce an industrial training programme with job guarantees to improve the employability of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan said the ministry had visited Bangkok, Thailand, and Singapore to establish cooperation on the programme.
He said an understanding had been reached to introduce the programme, which would include student exchanges.
The Advanced Technology Training Centres (ADTEC) would send Malaysian students to partner institutions and receive students from them, including Singapore's Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
Under the programme, companies requiring specific skills from graduates would offer them temporary jobs while they received training at ADTEC.
After completing the training, they would be offered permanent positions with salaries based on the skills they had acquired.
Ramanan was speaking to the media after officiating at the Madani Kita 2026 Sungai Buloh: "Giving Meaning to the People's Hopes" programme in Kota Damansara today.
He rejected the perception that TVET graduates struggled to find jobs, saying the latest data showed their employability rate had reached 98 per cent, up from about 95.5 per cent last year.
He said the figures demonstrated the effectiveness of strategic cooperation with industry in ensuring training remained relevant and met labour market needs.
In August, the ministry announced plans for student exchanges between the Manpower Department's Advanced Technology Training Centres and ITE Singapore. The cooperation also covers knowledge sharing and the exchange of best practices in TVET.
Ramanan also said the proposed RM2,500 monthly starting basic salary for graduates and semi-skilled workers would be detailed in guidelines that would apply regardless of region or locality.
He said workers should be assessed fairly based on their qualifications, skills and abilities rather than the state or location where they worked.
Differences in location should not be used to disregard workers' qualifications and skills, particularly when they had comparable skills and responsibilities, he added.
Ramanan questioned why a graduate qualified to work as a financial manager in Kuala Lumpur should receive RM8,000 while someone doing the same job in Perlis or Terengganu would be eligible for only RM2,500.
He said workers who had studied hard, obtained qualifications and developed their skills deserved fair treatment.
2027 Budget proposed a starting basic salary of RM2,500 for graduates and semi-skilled workers.
The ministry is preparing Starting Basic Salary Guidelines based on job categories under the Malaysia Standard Classification of Occupations, while the implementation mechanism is still being refined.
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