KUCHING: Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVet) provider GiatMara has been asked to also provide students with training in entrepreneurship.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said TVet graduates equipped with necessary skills in entrepreneurship will be able to start their own businesses.
“Graduates should not solely rely on obtaining jobs once they have completed their studies. That is the old mentality. Graduates should instead be more proactive and start their own businesses, which can be more lucrative in the long run,” he told reporters after the 2016 GiatMara Graduation Ceremony yesterday.
He said graduates who studied hospitality could work together to run homestays instead of just looking for work at hotels.
Wan Junaidi said such entrepreneurship initiatives could also apply to other courses such as tailoring and culinary arts.
“This is why most of our Chinese friends have started their own businesses unlike those from the Bumiputera communities, who mostly rely on working for other people instead of starting their own trades or businesses,” he said.
A total of 274 students from 10 GiatMara centres around Kuching and Serian divisions received their certificates in Industrial Maintenance, Welding, Freezer and Air Conditioning, Electrical, Sewing, Culinary, Cosmetics and Computer Network yesterday.
GiatMara has produced more than 15,000 graduates over the last 25 years.