KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat has successfully developed 442 technopreneurs through its specialised diploma programme at the MARA Skills Institute.
These entrepreneurs have achieved cumulative sales of RM120.8 million between 2016 and July this year, demonstrating the programme’s practical business focus.
Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang explained that the diploma covers electrical, fashion, textiles, furniture, landscaping and air-conditioning fields.
Students must register actual businesses with sales performance serving as their primary assessment metric instead of traditional academic grading.
The electrical field programme at IKM Seberang Perai Utara alone produced 28 entrepreneurs who generated RM45.1 million in sales and created 121 job opportunities.
Rubiah shared this information during an oral question-and-answer session at the Dewan Negara in response to Senator Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz’s inquiry about MARA’s graduate competitiveness.
MARA has allocated RM50 million through a Special Education Fund to upgrade its educational institutions and address outdated infrastructure.
This investment aims to prepare students for emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, automation and the Internet of Things.
The organisation has partnered with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to enhance ICT facilities at MARA Junior Science Colleges.
MARA has also introduced digital learning, flexible approaches and the Teaching Factory concept to bridge academia and industry.
These initiatives respond to the need for graduates who can meet the demands of Malaysia’s evolving high-tech industries. – Bernama