Malaysia plans to bring China’s Luban Workshop training to rural areas
Zahid says the programme would help local TVET instructors develop technical skills without sending students to China.
Malaysia intends to introduce China’s Luban Workshop model to strengthen technical and vocational education and training (TVET), particularly in rural communities, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in Tianjin on Oct 16.
Under the proposed approach, trainers would come to Malaysia to share technical expertise with local lecturers and instructors, rather than students travelling to China. Zahid said the programme also provides equipment at no cost and updated teaching modules for TVET institutions.
He was speaking to reporters after delivering a keynote address at the World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference 2026 (WVTEDC 2026). Zahid said collaboration could broaden rural access to skills training while exposing educators to quantum technology, artificial intelligence and information systems.
Separately, Zahid, who chairs the National TVET Council, said vocational education could help Malaysia reach its semiconductor workforce target: 60,000 engineers or highly skilled workers by 2030. He said TVET needed to complement conventional academic education to meet that goal.
Malaysia has six universities under the Malaysian Technical University Network, he said, but depending only on conventional academic pathways would make it challenging to meet skilled labour demand within the required time frame.
