Abstract:

In 2007, Malaysian economy grew 6.3 percent and was largely driven by strong domestic demand and a buoyant external sector, with manufacturing and services sectors as key contributors to the growth. Malaysia government has setup a skill training system to produce skilled worker for the manufacturing and services sectors. Since 1993, skills training in Malaysia had been premised on the National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS). The introduction of the National Dual Training System (NDTS) in 2005 had resulted in two training systems co-existing, both seeking to meet the country’s skilled workforce needs. The development of the NOSS-based training system and the NDTS as different entities had caused confusion and raised concerns on their future direction and positions. The basic purpose of the study was to examine how they had evolved in order to determine their key characteristics and parameters, and subsequently to examine their comparability. The ultimate aim was to ascertain whether there was a basis for their integration within the country’s national skills training system. The developments of the training systems were examined utilising analytical dimensions which covered the purpose of training, policy framework, delivery mechanism and work context. The two systems showed strong convergence in almost all these dimensions. They were intended to meet the skilled workforce requirements in Malaysia; established through government initiatives at the highest level; government-funded and co-ordinated by the same public agency; and came under a common Malaysian Skills Certification System. The strong commonalities were also seen in their delivery structures and mechanisms since they basically involved the same stakeholders and infrastructure for skills training including for curriculum and instructional development. Based on five major themes which emerged from the investigation, the study contended that the NOSS-based training system and the NDTS should no longer be kept separate. Their integration into a unified system can be realized through a framework which meets various key requirements; is conceptually feasible; and involves three main phases of consolidating the existing systems that include making the NOSS-based training system more dynamic and the NDTS more flexible.

Keywords:

National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS), National Dual Training System (NDTS).