Deputy Prime Minister Zahid calls for TVET graduates to master AI, innovate and start businesses

At Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi outlined a three-part strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training. First, AI, data and digital technology should become core competencies, paired with problem-solving, communication and ethical decision-making. Second, the Polytechnic and Community College Education Department must deepen applied innovation through industry partnerships, testing student projects like smart irrigation in real settings before market entry.

Third, the government will expand routes for graduates to start their own firms, highlighting Noor Azree Aiman’s growth of ASZR Legacy from a single repair shop to multiple branches. Zahid also emphasized leveraging the 23,580 industry partners for curriculum design and professional certification, and called for strengthening specialised institutions such as Sultan Nazrin Shah Maritime Polytechnic and expanding overseas training experiences like those at Liuzhou Railway Vocational Technical College in China.