Malaysia's JELITA TVET programme for women targets intake of 150,000 over three years

"If this is achieved as early as 2025, I'm certain that we would need to raise that target again as the demand for skilled women in the workforce is high," Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

Malaysia's Job Empowerment by Learning and Inclusive Technical Advancement (JELITA) programme, which comes under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training's Special Women umbrella, will now aim for an intake of 150,000 women within these three years, up from the earlier-proposed target of 15,000.

As cited by NST on Thursday (3 August 2023),Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the initial target of 15,000 was too small, given that applications since the announcement of the programme in June have crossed 6,000. Talking about the new target, he was quoted as saying: "If this is achieved as early as 2025, I'm certain that we would need to raise that target again as the demand for skilled women in the workforce is high."

Speaking following the launch of the JELITA@RISDA (Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority) programme, as further cited by NST, the DPM shared that the marketability rate for women in the workforce stands at 62%, and that the government aims to raise this to 95%.

As shared by RISDA, the JELITA programme focuses on six target groups of women to empower the economy through the development of talents, skills, and knowledge.

The programme is part of a strategic collaboration between Kolej Universiti Agrosains Malaysia (UCAM) and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM), whose role will be to provide training and facilitators to provide skilled workers of quality specifically for women.

Per the NST report, DPM Zahid said there will be 12 ministries supporting the programme, wil the DPM being part of the TVET secretariat.

He also stressed the need for engagements with industry players, to keep the programme runners up-to-date on the needs and demands of the industry.

Photo: DPM Zahid Hamidi's Facebook