ABSTRACT

The development of the NOSS-based training system and the National Dual Training
System (NDTS) as different entities had caused confusion and raised concerns on the
future direction and position of the national skills training system in Malaysia. The
basic purpose of the study was to examine how they had evolved in order to
determine their key characteristics and parameters, and to examine their
comparability and ultimately to ascertain whether there was a basis for their
integration within the countrys national skills training system. The study adopted the
interpretive qualitative research design which was premised on the
phenomenological approach. For data collection, it employed interviews of key
participants in both training systems, review of documents including unpublished
official records, case studies and sector study. The development of the training
systems were examined utilizing analytical dimensions which covered the purpose of
training, policy framework, delivery mechanism and work context. The two training
systems showed strong convergence in almost all these dimensions. From the
investigation, five major themes emerged, namely strong commonalities between the
two training systems; fundamental limitations in each of the training systems; well
Project
established, existing Findings
work-based /Outputs/Outcomes
foundation; the need for a dynamic NOSS-based
(PSM
training system; II) need for re-aligning the NDTS closer to the work context in
and the
Malaysia. Based on these themes, the study contended that the NOSS-based training
system and the NDTS should no longer be kept separate. Their integration into a
unified system can be realized through a framework which meets various key
requirements; is conceptually feasible; and involves three main phases of
consolidating the existing training systems that include making the NOSS-based
training system more dynamic and the NDTS more flexible.