Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the ministry and related agencies needed to rebrand and eliminate parents’ perception of TVET as second-class education or that it is irrelevant.

“Many parents have a negative perception of TVET and consider this education stream second class or that it focuses only on dropouts.

“However, in countries such as Germany and France, this education stream is the main choice,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Kolej Komuniti@Pontian at the Muafakat Complex Sungai Pinggan here today.

Elaborating on the proposal to formulate a new TVET policy, the prime minister said students should be given the option to choose subjects in the field at an earlier age.

“In developed countries, TVET education commences at the beginning of a child’s education.

“It is different here as it is taught to students after Form Three. Only then do students choose their subjects.

“The ministry must formulate a new policy on TVET so that students can choose the subjects they want to pursue from Form One,” he said.

Ismail said TVET students could now use their certificates to further their studies in universities.

“Several universities in the country accept students’ vocational certificates and TVET training certificates to further their studies.”

TVET can be the first choice for a career, he added.

“The proof is that the marketability rate of TVET students in 2020 was 87%, which is more than the 84.4% for other graduates.

“The marketability rate for community college graduates in the same year was 94.2%. This is the highest among public skills training institutes in Malaysia,” he said.