ÿÈÕ´óÈü

KUALA LUMPUR: ÿÈÕ´óÈü's industrial ambitions under the National Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 led by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry are grand, spanning sectors from aerospace, electrical and electronic, and semiconductors to advanced materials, electric vehicle (EV), renewables and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

Launched to reposition the country as a high-tech, high-value and sustainable growth manufacturing economy, NIMP 2030 aims to move industries up the global value chain, strengthen industrial competitiveness, and high-skilled, innovation-driven growth across all sectors.

This plan stretches over seven years to 2030 and is structured around four key policy missions that include advancing economic complexity, tech adoption and digitalisation, net-zero transition and economic security and inclusivity.

Under the ministry's stewardship, NIMP 2030 serves as the overarching industrial policy framework with ministries, agencies, industry players and education institutions working in alignment to deliver its outcomes.

However, as factories rise and investment headlines flash, one fundamental question always appear — who will build, maintain and innovate these industries?

Increasingly, the answer is shifting away from traditional degree pathways toward hands-on technical talent.

Behind major industrial goals, the nation is placing its bet on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) capable young ÿÈÕ´óÈüns trained to build, assemble, programme, operate, troubleshoot and engineer the backbone of a high-tech economy.

In October, the government reinforced this direction by allocating RM7.9 billion for TVET under the 2026 Budget, an increase from RM7.5 billion previously.

Funds include RM1.3 billion for vocational colleges, RM3 billion for Human Resources Development Corp's training programmes, and RM650 million under the Skills Development Fund Corp to support talent pipelines in high-value clusters such as semiconductors, EVs and advanced technologies.

These numbers reflect more than funding. They indicate a transition in national thinking, one that positions technical workforce development as central to ÿÈÕ´óÈü's industrial future rather than secondary to academic routes.

Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie believes this direction is not optional but structural.

"If we want industrial transformation, we need high-skilled workers, and we must supply enough to meet the demand created under NIMP," he told Business Times.

He added that while NIMP 2030 sets out specific programmes, TVET development is already backed by a national framework involving multiple ministries and institutions.

"The crucial part is collaboration," he said, adding that over the past two budgets, the government had set aside increased allocation for TVET, while government-linked companies had worked with the Human Resources Ministry and education authorities to design and roll out TVET programmes.

He added that these parties, which consists the government, academia and industry, must work together.

"Thus, TVET remains crucial. If we don't start closing our skill gaps now, we will struggle to support NIMP 2030's industrial goals," he said.

However, others argue ÿÈÕ´óÈü is not yet moving fast enough.

An economist specialising in Southeast Asian development, Doris Liew, said the talent issue was a structural bottleneck that risked slowing NIMP 2030's momentum.

"ÿÈÕ´óÈü cannot achieve NIMP 2030's ambitions without a dramatic expansion of its STEM and TVET talent pipeline," she said.

"The push for higher value–added industries faces a structural talent deficit. Today, we struggle to supply enough skilled engineers for the semiconductor segment."

She was referring to the National Semiconductor Strategy, which aims to train and upskill 60,000 engineers, but emphasised that numbers alone were insufficient.

"TVET is still treated as a second-tier track, and the pathway largely stops at job entry. In a dynamic economy, TVET cannot be a cul-de-sac. It must become a national skills escalator that promotes continuous learning, stackable credentials, and mid-career mobility."

TVET, which was once dismissed as a second-tier route, is gaining momentum.

This year, TVET enrolment climbed to 492,000 students compared with 432,000 previously, spanning 1,398 institutions from vocational and polytechnic colleges to community and tahfiz-based technical schools.

The stream is becoming an alternative path for those who struggle with conventional academic progression.

With a training structure grounded in 70 per cent practical work and 30 per cent theory, TVET offers a pathway built around capability rather than examination performance. The employability narrative reinforces this shift.

According to government data, 95.1 per cent of TVET graduates secured employment, with some vocational colleges achieving between 97.6 and 98.7 per cent.

Salaries for TVET graduates surpassed those of those who hold only the Sijil Pelajaran ÿÈÕ´óÈü certificate.

ÿÈÕ´óÈü's future workforce needs extend far beyond assembly lines.

The NIMP economy requires precision machinists, robotics technicians, semiconductor fab specialists, aerospace engineers, battery system operators and digital maintenance talent capable of working with automation, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Lee believed that curriculum relevance would determine whether ÿÈÕ´óÈü could meet this demand.

He emphasises that talent must be job-ready, especially in areas such as EVs, semiconductors, advanced materials and pharmaceuticals, while digitalisation and automation must be embedded into training from the ground up.

"We have the allocation. Now we must ensure training, collaboration and resources that matches the industry's direction," he said.

Meanwhile, recent incentives, including expanded STEM scholarships to industry-matching grants and upgraded apprenticeship networks, suggest policymakers are recalibrating TVET toward future industry needs.

However, Liew said the transformation should not stop at recruitment.

She said the bigger weakness was the absence of structured mid-career upskilling at workplaces, which risks trapping workers in entry-level skill bands.

"Without systematic mid-career reskilling, ÿÈÕ´óÈü risks failing to generate the human capital required to sustain its NIMP 2030 trajectory.

"A true industrial transformation demands more than incentives for firms; it requires a workforce development ecosystem that evolves at the same speed as the industries ÿÈÕ´óÈü hopes to build."

If executed with consistency and urgency, ÿÈÕ´óÈü could build a workforce capable of powering EV assembly lines, semiconductor fabrication plants, aerospace maintenance hangars, renewable energy grids and green-technology manufacturing.

Integrated robotics, AI and automation training could cut the nation's foreign labour dependence, retain talent and move ÿÈÕ´óÈü up the value chain.

TVET can only fulfil its promise if training reflects real industry needs, institutions have modern equipment and qualified instructors, pathways lead to quality jobs, and most importantly, if society recognises TVET and STEM not as a second choice, but as a first-choice route to future-ready careers.