The Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Dr Ali Haidar Ahmed has emphasised the need to boost youth interest in vocational education.
Speaking at the official launch of the 50-day countdown to mark the 50th anniversary of vocational education in the Maldives, Minister Dr Haidar said the journey of the Maldives Polytechnic demonstrates the many efforts made and strong steps being taken to promote vocational education in the country, adding that it is now a proud institution that trains youth for national service in many technical fields.
The Minister said the Polytechnic's long journey has encouraged many generations, increased the strength of the workforce and engineered productive contributions to national development over half a century.
"I would like to take this opportunity to remember the invaluable contributions of the past and present management and staff of this institution and express my sincere gratitude to them all. During these past fifty years, their invaluable courage, resolve and character are behind every step taken towards promoting vocational education in the country,” he explained.
Even during the celebration of this historic milestone, Minister Dr Haidar acknowledged that more work needs to be done to strengthen resources and create more opportunities to make vocational education more attractive to the younger generation. In addition to introducing programmes in modern fields such as coding and graphic design, he stressed on the importance of increasing the capacity of trainers.
“We need to prepare the workforce for the future. Fields like artificial intelligence and cyber science need to be introduced and developed. Various courses need to be run to prepare the existing workforce for the future job market,” he added.
The origins of the Maldives Polytechnic can be traced back to 14 October 1975, with the establishment of a vocational training centre. Initially, it offered practical skills development in key areas such as welding, refrigeration, electrical wiring, and engine repair. The center underwent its first major transformation in October 1996, when it was renamed the Maldives Institute of Technical Education (MITE).
A more significant change came in 1999, when it became the Faculty of Engineering Technology within the Maldives College of Higher Education. This move not only raised the center's educational standards but also expanded its offerings. The evolution culminated on 12 April 2010, when a Presidential Decree officially established the modern Maldives Polytechnic, bringing all technical and vocational programs previously run by the College of Higher Education under one, unified institution.