Relying on 2 schools for future agri skills
Published on: Friday, September 04, 2015
Kota Belud: The government is pinning its hope on Sabah Agricultural Institute (IPS) in Kota Belud and Agricultural Vocational Training Centre (PLVP) in Lahad Datu to produce at least 60 per cent of the required skilled human resources in the agricultural sector in the State.Speaking at the joint convocation ceremony for both institutes on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin said there is a growing trend among private sector of absorbing skilled graduates of both institutes to work in their respective companies."Development programme and government projects under the National Key Economics Area for agriculture and National Agrofood Policy had projected that agricultural sector will be needing 83,600 workers by 2020, which is only five years away," he said.
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Yahya who is also the Agriculture and Food Industry Minister said agricultural sector is one of several sectors which had been identified as the main generator of national development and human resource development is one of the main factors in transforming the sector."High Order Thinking must always be internalised and applied if we are serious about producing a society that is high in moral and ethical values," he said.He also commended the director of Agricultural Department Idrus Shafie for his proposal to implement the Program Latihan Sangkut Mantapkan Akademik (Plasma) in the department's effort to empower the existing trainers.The agricultural sector, he said is very dynamic and the proposal to give trainers real-life experience in estates, factories, research centres and Higher Institutes of Education would definitely go a long way into producing graduates of a higher quality.
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"I urged all trainers and teachers to change their mindset in their efforts to increase their teaching skills so that they could impart their knowledge to their students easier and more efficiently. Knowledge and theories must be practical, economical and applicable in the real world."In other words, it is a lifelong learning for the trainers and it would be able to transform our youths as the agents of change, recipients of the latest innovative technology and the shakers and movers in making agriculture a dynamic sector by 2020," he said. He added that the government is constantly improving its key facilities and infrastructure to support human resource development programmes in both training centres.
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Majority of the allocation, he said, had been spent to provide a learning atmosphere that is conducive, IT-friendly, technology-oriented while at the same time, instill the value of entrepreneurship and soft skill among students."My hope is that all these infrastructure will be fully utilised and able to attract more youths to get involved in agriculture sector," he said.He also encouraged graduates to considerfurthering their studies to a higher level and praised 18 graduates who have already been accepted to study in universities in the country.A total of 118 graduates from IPS received their Malaysia Agricultural Certificate while 99 received their Agricultural Vocational Certificates from PLVP.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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