The Role of TVET in IR4.0 for Malaysia

Abstract

Defining the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) as the “digital revolution” which combines human and technological capabilities in industry, this chapter poses two questions. First, what is the country’s level of attainment of IR4.0. Second, in preparing the population to take advantage of IR4.0, what is the role of education and what challenges does this sector or subsector face in pursuit of this goal? In Malaysia, the government has rosy projections of IR4.0 adoption, but on-the-ground surveys do not concur. The answer to the second question lies with the technical and vocational education training (TVET) sector. Despite its extensive coverage, the TVET subsector saw projected enrolments falling well short. And in terms of IR4.0 training, competency deficiencies existed among many TVET instructors. With industry lagging behind IR4.0, upgrading TVET to teach IR4.0 is still necessary.