Jelita to give women access to male dominated TVET fields

KUALA LUMPUR: The Job Empowerment by Learning and Inclusive Technical Advancement (Jelita) programme is expected to empower women and give them access to the male dominated fields under Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia vice-chancellor Prof Dr Massila Kamalrudin said women should discard the mindset of associating TVET with the 3D sector of Dirty, Difficult and Dangerous jobs.

“When it comes to advanced TVET, there is great income potential and big opportunities to become technical entrepreneurs online.

“There are also technical fields such as computer software in TVET where women need not get their hands dirty, which require intellectual skills instead,” she told BK.

Meanwhile, a Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) student, N. Vethashri, 27, welcomed the Jelita programme, saying it would give women more opportunities to get into TVET.

Vethashri, who was exposed to TVET during school, said TVET job openings for women was still low.

“I completed a catering course. When I started working, I found the majority of staff at my workplace were men.

Another UTHM student, Nurul Athirah Firdaus, 24, said women who take up the Jelita programme can secure their careers in whichever field they choose, just as she did in the aviation management industry.

“I want to prove that I can also succeed in this field, which is usually dominated by men.

“I am not worried about job opportunities because with a programme like Jelita, I am one step closer to securing my career in this field,” she said.

Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said the Jelita programme was aimed at empowering women economically through the development of talents, skills, abilities and knowledge.

He said the programme which would be implemented for three years was targeting to attract the participation of 150,000 women. – BK