80pc of M'sian workers comprise SPM holders

Daily Express... March 04, 2011

MUHYIDDIN said the challenge now is to provide a trained workforce that possesses the qualification and skills to contribute to the economy of the country.

He said in the next 10 years, the Government will strive to create 3.3 million new job opportunities based on knowledge and skills.

This is important for the country because in the course of developing the nation, it must produce human capital that are educated, skilled, qualified and has the experience.

Unfortunately, he said, most of the workforce today comprised SPM holders. "We are not belittling them but 80 per cent of the workforce in the civil service and private sector now comprise those who only have SPM qualification."

Hence, he said the aim is to generate a new workforce that has the capability to fulfil the NKRA and among these is to look at the education system.

Thus far, he said education infrastructure in the country is much better than other developing nations. "We have prepared about 500,000 teaching workforce to fulfil the requirement to teach 5.6 million students throughout the country," he said.

However, this is inadequate because the human capital should have the necessary criteria to be competitive in the global world.

"If we only produce human capital but no skills and knowledge, they cannot be competitive.

"So, we have to produce human capital that are trained, skilled, possess knowledge and quality needed by the various sectors."

To achieve all this, he said 26 per cent of the National Budget has been allocated for education, which is translated into billions of ringgit annually to develop the education sector of the country.

The teaching fraternity's role, Muhyiddin said, should not focus on enhancing the quality of education of the country but to prepare children for employment in the future.

To this, he said pre-schooling is important to form children's minds and hence the 1,500 classrooms built across the country last year.

Some 56,000 children have managed to enter pre-schools, he said.

"This year, we are required to prepare a similar amount of classrooms that would be built by the Education Department, National Unity Department, Kemas and also the private sector," he said.

Also present were Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, Assistant Finance Minister, Datuk Donald Mojuntin, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister's Department, Datuk Edward Khoo, State Education Director, Datuk Dr Muhidin Yusin and Principal Nurani Fauziah Derin.