Malaysia’s technical and vocational training (TVET)1
program is born out of a combination of ambition
and necessity. The country has recorded impressive
economic growth over several decades, bolstering
ambitions that it should make the transition from
middle- to high-income by transforming to a
“knowledge (K)” economy. Vision 2020, announced
by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, was to
give substance to this plan. The need to make this
transformation was driven home by a deceleration of
this growth after the Asian Financial Crisis at the turn
of the century followed by the Global Financial Crisis
a decade later and has galvanized the country’s
leaders to action to bolster its human capital. TVET
can play an important role in Malaysia’s
transformation to a knowledge economy.