He said this is one way the regional bloc will shape a workforce that is “inclusive, future-ready and poised to lead the global technical and vocational education and training industry”.
“A student from the Philippines can train in Malaysia, an Indonesian in Vietnam, and a Thai graduate in Singapore, turning Asean integration into a living reality through the movement of skills and knowledge.
“And perhaps, from this very gathering, we can establish a new regional movement – the Asean Green and Digital Skills Task Force,” he said at the Asean TVET Conference here today.
Zahid, who is also the chairman of the National TVET Council, said such a task force would unite Asean with “concrete actions, measurable targets and mutual support” to cultivate the talent needed by the region.
The two-day conference, jointly hosted by the Human Resource Development Corporation and Skills Development Fund Corporation, seeks to provide a dynamic platform to facilitate knowledge exchange, foster innovation, and build strategic partnerships in support of Asean’s digital and green transformation.
It is also one of the flagship platforms of the Asean Year of Skills 2025, an initiative under Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship to accelerate skills development, promote regional mobility, and prepare the Asean workforce for emerging economic and technological shifts.
Zahid also called for insightful discussions on skills mismatch, the rising demand for digital and green talent, and driving innovation.
“I have instructed my officers to capture these insights because I will not allow this to be mere dialogue.
“It must spark policies that meet market needs, open opportunities for all, make employers true partners, and fast-track cutting-edge learning,” he said.
In June, Bernama reported Zahid as saying student enrolment in TVET institutions rose to 436,285 last year, with 53.5% of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) holders opting for TVET pathways.
Asean development of EV industry
Speaking at the conference, human resources minister Steven Sim noted that OpenAI last week launched its GPT-5 artificial intelligence system, which he said can deliver information of a higher order and faster “than a PhD expert”.
“This has confirmed our suspicion for the past few years. AI replaces conventional academically trained personnel,” he said.
Sim said AI can write code, produce high-level designs, solve complicated maths and generate speeches and other expert statements.
However, he said, the world still needs those who can build, repair, operate, communicate, supervise and organise, making it necessary for Asean to have a more collaborative approach towards the 21st century economy.
He said such collaboration may be seen in the electric vehicle industry, for example.
“We should leverage our core competencies to develop an Asean EV industry, rather than have a zero-sum competition to the bottom,” he said.