Malaysia (Commonwealth Union)_ According to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Malaysia must take the initiative to become the region’s leading provider of Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services for the aviation sector. He added that by doing so, the Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT) may become the country’s premier university for training MRO and aviation sector professionals.
Ahmad Zahid made the statement during the joint venture document exchanging event between the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) and industrial partners. He stated, “Malaysia would like to be recognized as the service provider for MRO in this region. When I was Defence Minister, MRO was one of my primary focuses, particularly in promoting the defense industry. And now we have commercial and cargo flights, and a bigger market”.
According to Zahid, who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development, other TVET colleges are also welcome to partner with UniKL MIAT, since the institution has trained graduates with a high employability rate who are currently employed in more than 20 countries worldwide. In the meantime, he stated that the 280 TVET schools under KKDW and its agencies have been instructed to cooperate closely with industry participants to guarantee that their graduates meet market expectations. He said, “The employability rate must be far-reaching. My aim is to get 100 per cent the rate of employability with graduates from UniKL and TVET institutes. I hope more industry players will join us at TVET@KKDW”.
In addition to the government’s investor-friendly policies, Ahmad Zahid stated that TVET played a significant role in meeting the government’s goal to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) this year by generating a more highly skilled workforce. He further added that Vale, a Brazilian mining firm that has spent US$1.37 billion (RM6 billion), and AT&S, an electronics business that has invested RM8.5 billion in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, have partnered with TVET schools, particularly under KKDW, in order to train the requisite manpower.
