According to the Department of Technical Education & Training, the current socioeconomic impact is drawing students to low-skilled, low-paying occupations, which is why fewer students are enrolled in vocational education programs.

This is a significant obstacle to enhancing vocational education in the nation, the Department noted in its 2024 annual performance report.

The report also pointed out that it is challenging to control the maintenance expenses of vocational education institutions because of the small amount of money allotted for the sector’s growth. Furthermore, there is a propensity for students to discontinue their studies due to the inadequate availability of student welfare services, and expanding the training capacity of courses with high social demand is not a cost-effective strategy.

According to the report, students are less invested in technical courses such as welding, masonry, and woodworking because of societal perceptions, a lack of understanding of vocational education alternatives, and high income. It also underlines that plans are underway to transform the vocational education industry for the sake of social, environmental, and ethical development.

As a result, 9 College of Technology and Technical Colleges aim to recruit 27,000 students in 119 courses across 18 fields in 2025. Under this, 36 NVQ 5/6 courses, 81 NVQ 3/4 courses, and a few certificate courses are scheduled to begin. Additionally, 18 courses in the areas of building construction, electrical, electronics, and telecommunications, vehicle repair and maintenance, the clothing industry, information communication and multimedia technologies, and the wood sector are also scheduled to begin.

They also highlighted that women are less likely to enroll in technical courses, and that there are limited job options in the industrial sector as well. The report emphasized that it has become challenging to compete with private sector technical training institutes because of the slow rate of course upgrading in tandem with the rapidly evolving technology.