national industry dialogue 2009 - Jabatan Pengajian Politeknik

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The National Industry Dialogue 2009 in PICC, Putrajaya was the fourth dialogue organised by
the Department of Polytechnic (DPE), Ministry of Higher Education. The theme for this year’s
dialogue was ‘Workforce Development in a Changing Market by Engaging Industries’. The
objectives were to promote and strengthen industry-education collaboration so as to develop a
common understanding of the industry’s needs and how polytechnics and community colleges
can fulfill those needs for the national as well as the international market.
The Minister of Higher Education in his keynote address spoke on how engagement between
the industry and higher education institutions can be improved in finding better ways to work
together. With the current challenges posed by globalisation, the nation needs a highly
sophisticated workforce capable of facing the challenges at home and in abroad. Programmes
offered should be in line with the rapid changes in technology. The polytechnics are given
specific roles in producing competent technical workforce must clearly define their role and
relationship with the industry. This link will be mutually beneficial for both parties and would help
train students who will be both academically and industry oriented. The Ministry is in the
process of dividing the administration of the polytechnics and community colleges into two
separate agencies in order to improve the efficiency and performance of the both sectors. This
is part of the transformation of the Ministry and in order to ensure this change be successful, it is
crucial the industry as one of the stakeholders to champion the cause.
The next presentation entitled ‘Malaysia Employment Outlook – Changing Market Trends’ was
delivered by the Senior Vice President (Asia Pacific) for Kelly Services Incorporated. An
interesting outline on the skills needed to remain current in the evolving Malaysian workplace,
employment trends in Malaysia’s multi-sector economy and how skills and productivity can be
raised in a globalised environment were given.
The Director General of DPE in his presentation gave a brief review on the Technical Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) System in Malaysia. It was then followed by the status report of
the issues raised during the previous Industry Dialogue held in October 2008 and the Kuching
Industry Dialogue Luncheon held in August 2009. A brief account on the DPE’s Collaboration
Model and the establishment of Industry Advisory Committee were also given. Industry
collaborations are emphasised in all DPE’s activities in order to remain relevant.
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