Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir emphasizes that PolyCC graduate employability must focus on skill matching, quality career prospects, and fair pay.
KOTA KINABALU: The employability rate of polytechnics and community colleges (PolyCC) should be viewed beyond mere percentage figures, ensuring graduates secure jobs that match their skills and offer quality career prospects and suitable income levels.
Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir reminded polytechnics and community colleges not to rest on their laurels despite their graduates recording employability rates exceeding 98 per cent last year.
“What is more important is to ensure graduates secure jobs that match their skills, have good career prospects and offer good income. That is why the relationship between educational institutions and the industry must evolve further.
“Industry needs to work with us from the curriculum development, training and certification stages through to employment opportunities,” he said in his speech at the 2026 Sabah Zone Polytechnic and Community College Convocation Ceremony at Kota Kinabalu Polytechnic here today.
He said rapid technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI), automation, robotics, green technology, cybersecurity and digital economy have also altered the employment landscape and the skills required by the industry.
In this rapidly evolving professional landscape, Zambry said the nation needs graduates who are not only knowledgeable but also capable of solving problems, mastering technology, thinking creatively and staying adaptable to change.
He said Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is no longer a second choice, but has instead become one of the main career pathways for the country’s younger generation, since the TVET 2.0 Agenda emphasises high-demand future sectors such as AI, robotics and renewable energy.
As such, Zambry said the Ministry of Higher Education has made “PolyCC as the TVET Pioneer” one of the thrusts of the country’s higher education sector, reinforced by the Malaysia Higher Education Plan 2026-2035 and the Polytechnic and Community College Strategic Plan 2026-2035.
He said the PolyCC ecosystem currently encompasses 36 polytechnics and 106 community colleges nationwide, with over 100,000 students.
He also said that, in Sabah, the three polytechnics and nine community colleges played an important role in providing access to education and developing local talent in the state.
Zambry added that the TVET development agenda in Sabah is crucial to supporting the growth of the state’s economic sectors, including energy, oil and gas, tourism, modern agriculture, construction, the digital economy, logistics and the blue economy.
“Sabah’s economic development must move in tandem with the development of local talent. As such, we want more Sabah youths to obtain quality education, master high-level skills and subsequently secure good employment opportunities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zambry told reporters that five more polytechnics would soon offer degree-level study programmes as part of efforts to expand higher education pathways in technical and engineering fields.
So far, he said four polytechnics already offer degree-level study programmes in those fields.
This approach, he said, was important to meet the country’s workforce requirements, while ensuring polytechnic education remains aligned with industry demands.