Vocational and skills training institutes’ graduates shoud be paid salaries which commensurate with the qualification and skills they possess, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

According to him, the salaries offered so far were not up to expectations, despite the high amount spent by the government in improving the quality of education of vocational and skill training institutes’  graduates.

“Several countries with high technical competency such as Germany, Japan and South Korea have raised the standard of training skills that people in these countries have such high regards for those in these fields,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after delivering a talk titled ‘Malaysia’s Human Capital Towards High Income Economy’ at the University of Technology Malaysia’s (UTM) Kuala Lumpur campus, here Thursday.

Khairy said, the public, especially parents too needed to change their perception that only students who do not excel academically go through vocational education and skill trainings.

“Most parents want their children to be doctors, engineers, lawyers without seeing the potential of their children in the technical field, a field which is just as important for the economic development of the country,” he said.

Khairy said, graduates of vocational and skill training institutes also have high employability value.

He cited the National Youth Training Institute (IKBN) as having graduate employability level of up to 83 percent and efforts were being made to increase it to 90 percent by 2016.

“IKBN work alongside with several big companies such as Petronas, Samsung and Tan Chong Motors and Automotive Institute of Malaysia to ensure courses available suit industries’ needs and these companies provide training for students,” he said.