Malaysia TVET entrants rise 30% in high-skills push

Malaysia’s new technical and vocational education and training entrants rose about 30% to more than 230,000 in 2025 from around 176,000 in 2023, Channel NewsAsia reported on Oct. 20, 2026.

That leaves Malaysia’s 650,000-student year-end target about 190,000 above 2025 enrolment, according to Atlas360 calculations, a test of whether skills policy can move quickly enough to support labour-market demand.

Industry test

Total enrolment in technical and vocational education and training, or TVET, rose to nearly 460,000 students in 2025 from about 400,000 in 2023, the report said. The 650,000 target would be about 41% above the 2025 level, according to Atlas360 calculations.

The share of SPM and equivalent school leavers entering TVET climbed to 57% in 2025 from 44% in 2023, according to Azmir Mohd Yunus, head of the National TVET Council’s secretariat. SPM refers to the Malaysian Certificate of Education, the national secondary-school examination that is the equivalent of Singapore’s O Levels.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, chairman of the National TVET Council Committee, said Malaysia wants TVET to compete directly with academic routes. “We are aiming for TVET to become the first choice for students, while recognising that academic pathways continue through public and private higher education institutions, with TVET focusing strongly on meeting the demands of the national labour market,” Zahid told reporters on Jun. 5, according to CNA.

The policy push matters for Malaysia’s industrial strategy because companies need workers with applied technical skills for established trades and newer sectors. In June, Malaysia launched TVET 2.0, which CNA said gives more emphasis to emerging areas including cryptology and renewable energy, while still covering automotive work, electrical work, culinary arts, hospitality, fashion and design.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said up to RM50 million, or $12.3 million, from the High-Impact Programme fund under the Skills Development Fund Corporation could be used to support TVET 2.0, according to the report.

The shift is also social. TVET has long been viewed in Malaysia as a fallback to university, CNA reported, similar to countries where degrees are associated with better-paid white-collar work. Muhammad Faeez Abdul Halim, 30, a TVET graduate who completed a precision machining diploma at Penang Skills Development Centre in 2017, told CNA that relatives and friends initially saw university as safer.

“But I told them that there were good job opportunities in the industrial sector and that employers often prefer TVET graduates over university graduates for their practical skills,” Muhammad Faeez said.

Malaysia has 1,996 TVET institutions, including 897 public institutions, 44 under state governments and statutory bodies, and 1,055 private institutions registered under the Department of Skills Development, according to the government TVET portal cited by CNA. The network includes vocational colleges, polytechnics, community colleges and skills training institutes.

Employers are pressing for a stronger role in shaping courses. “Malaysia has made considerable progress in elevating TVET but the next stage must be about quality, relevance and industry ownership rather than simply increasing the number of programmes or graduates,” Malaysian Employers Federation president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said.

The main constraint is whether rising enrolment translates into better jobs. CNA reported that experts and people who took the vocational route said companies need to be more involved and pay must improve. Arulkumar Singaraveloo, chief executive of Malaysia HR Forum, said interest has grown but TVET has “not fully become a mainstream first choice”.

Arulkumar said concerns about employment prospects, advancement and social recognition still deter high-performing school leavers, according to CNA. Those concerns put more weight on whether employers offer clearer career paths and salaries that make vocational training competitive with university routes.

Year-end checks

By Dec. 31, the main observable is whether Malaysia reports total TVET enrolment of 650,000 students, the target Zahid gave for the end of 2026.

By Dec. 31, the size of the enrolment gap will also be checkable against the nearly 460,000 students recorded in 2025. Reaching 650,000 would require an increase of about 190,000 students from that level, according to Atlas360 calculations.