Strategic Management of Improving the Welding Graduates Based on Industrial Recognition Centre

Introduction

The ability of an industry to attract and retain qualified workers depends on the degree of education offered in higher education. As a graduate, you will have to balance the diverse needs of many businesses with the knowledge and expertise you have gained. Institutions of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET MARA) face a tough challenge. The primary goal of TVET MARA is to provide students with the technological and practical skills necessary to increase their earnings and compete in today's dynamic job market. One of the most important aspects of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is making sure that the programmes are in line with what employers want in terms of technical and soft skills, especially in times of high unemployment like the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic.

Companies and graduate attributes are required to adjust global, economic, technical, and social patterns to appeal to their employees. A survey conducted on local new graduates by the Malaysia Ministry of Higher Education and JobStreet shows that 200,000 unemployed graduates lack English language skills, poor communication skills, and poor attitudes (Balakrishnan, 2017). Some institutions may not include these attributes in the program because they do not see them as important (Hanapi & Nordin, 2014). Accordingly, graduate positions and character need to be improved because many occupations do not require experience (Balakrishnan, 2017).

Graduates face the industry's lack of soft skills, but they also face an unequal salary rate compared to their competencies. Several anecdotal studies show graduates earn the same starting salary after statistics suggest this narrative in the mid-2000s. In 2018, the initial salary for higher education (after inflation adjustment) decreased between 2010 and 2018, according to the Economic Growth report of the Bank Negara 2018. In the same year, a new graduate obtained an effective salary of RM1,376.00 (2010: RM1,458.00), and a Master of Science graduate earned an actual salary of RM2,707.00.

According to the Malaysia of Higher Education Graduate Tracking Study for the Welding Certificate and Diploma in Welding Competency programme for TVET MARA institutions, it is found that 73% of Diploma Competency of welding graduates earn a salary below RM2,001. In contrast, 86% of Certificate level graduates earn a salary below RM2,001 (Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi, 2020). Therefore, this paper aims to identify the factors affecting welding graduates' marketability towards industry recognition and examine the strategic management approaches in improving the welding graduates from TVET excellent centre based on industry recognition to be embedded in the current welding programme.