The Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), together with the Department of Polytechnic and Community College Education (DPCCE), Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia has conducted the face-to-face In-Country Program on Effective Workforce Planning in the TVET Sector last March 6 to 10, 2023 at the Dorsett Grand Subang Hotel in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. This five-day program was attended by 30 TVET administrators, quality section directors, experts, specialists, and policymakers from TVET polytechnics and community colleges throughout Malaysia.
The program was primarily designed to tackle the future needs of the workforce in the TVET sector in Malaysia, understand the challenges in planning for producing an effective organizational workforce and develop strategies to materialize these needs. In addition, the training was also aimed at broadening the spectrum of knowledge and skills of the participants in anchoring their organizational direction to various international standards.
The program management includes program supervisors: Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, CPSC Director General; Dr. Mohd Zahari bin Ismail, DPCCE Director General; and Ts. Zainab binti Othman, DPCCE Senior Director (Competency). The program was facilitated by program coordinator and resource person, Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen, CPSC Governing Board-Engaged Faculty Consultant. Theme papers were delivered by local and international experts namely: Ms. Teh Sook Ling, Executive Director, Selangor Human Resource Development Centre; Mr. John Blake, Professor for Online Learning, Eastern College Australia; Dr. Norhayati binti Zakaria, Director, Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah; Mr. El Cid Castillo, Provincial Director, TESDA Provincial Office - Sarangani, Philippines; Ts. Tung Chee Kuan, President, Technological Association of Malaysia; Mr. Tan Aik Keong, Founder and CEO of Agmo Group of Companies, and President, Malaysia Mobile App Developer Associations; and Dr. Md Fauzi bin Mohd. Ismail, Registrar, Malaysian Board of Technologies. Local coordinators from DPCCE include Mr. Mohd. Saiful Nizam bin Khalid, Deputy Director, Competency and Career Enhancement Division, DPCCE; Ms. Nawwar Adibah binti Wahid, Senior Assistant Director, Competency and Career Enhancement Division, DPCCE; and Mr. Muhammad Syafiq bin Mohd. Kamal, Senior Assistant Director, Competency and Career Enhancement Division, DPCCE.
DPCCE Senior Director for Academics Mr.Mohd Noor Bin Shahudin delivering the opening remarks on behalf of DPCCE Director General
The opening program commenced on March 6, 2023. Governing Board-Engaged Faculty Consultant and Program Coordinator Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen, who represented the Director General of CPSC welcomed the participants graciously and wished them good luck for the next five days of training. In addition, DPCCE Senior Director of Academics Mr. Mohd. Noor bin Shahudin also delivered a welcome message on behalf of DPCCE’s Director General.
Photos of resource persons facilitating the theme papers during the sessions
The five-day program consisted of lectures, workshops, group discussions, and individual tasks. The participants were actively engaged during the sessions. Seven theme papers were presented by the designated resource persons which covered crucial topics such as issues and challenges in workforce planning in TVET, addressing innovative learning and assessment, workforce trends in TVET.
During the fourth day, a seminar on “Effective Workforce in the 21st Century” was conducted. The seminar was facilitated by Mr. El Cid Castillo, Provincial Director, TESDA Provincial Office - Sarangani, Philippines; Ts. Tung Chee Kuan, President, Technological Association of Malaysia; Mr. Tan Aik Keong, Founder and CEO of Agmo Group of Companies, and President, Malaysia Mobile App Developer Associations; and Dr. Md Fauzi bin Mohd. Ismail, Registrar, Malaysian Board of Technologies. The seminar, which was anchored to the overall objectives of the training, emphasized case studies which covered situational analysis in the design planning for Malaysian TVET workforce within IR 4.0 by private and public industrial organizations and companies in the country, and an overview of the workforce demand and implementation of workforce designing tools in the Philippines through the Technical and Skills Development Authority of the Philippines (TESDA).
Photos of facilitators during the TVET Seminar, March 9, 2023
Through the interactive group workshops and activities, the participants were able to craft an action plan towards developing an effective workforce planning in their own institutions. These action plans were then presented to the facilitators during the last day of the program. Included in the training is a brief study visit to the Huawei Technologies, Malaysia, where the participants were able to learn about innovative systems in the development and manufacturing of mobile devices under Huawei Technologies.
The closing program was attended by officials from CPSC and DPCCE. The Vote of Thanks was delivered by Program Coordinator, Dr. Kesavan Ulaganathen, who thanked the organizing team, especially to DPCCE for successfully managing to facilitate the logistical arrangements of the program. He also expressed his thanks to the participants for actively participating in the discussions. National Coordinator for Accreditation in Malaysia cum Director of Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan, Johor Ts. Noor Aidi binti Nadzri also delivered a special message. She congratulated the participants for successfully completing their five-day training and hoped that future collaboration with CPSC will continue.
