NATIONAL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT ACT 2006

This Act comes into operation on a date to be appointed by the Minister by notification in the Gazette and the Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of different provisions of this Act.

Interpretation

to approve the Standards;

to advise the Minister on matters pertaining to this

Act;

to advise the Minister on any matter referred to it by the

Minister; and

to perform such other functions as may be set out in this

Act.

Membership of the Council

a Chairman;

the Director General;

nine other members of whom—

one is a member representing the Economic Planning

Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department;

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one is a member representing the Ministry responsible for human resources;

ten other members of whom—

six are members representing the private sector;

The Minister shall, in making an appointment under paragraph (1)(d), take into consideration the interest of groups and organizations concerned with skills training and shall select persons who in his opinion are likely to contribute effectively to the functions of the Council.

The Minister may appoint a person to be an alternate member in respect of each of the members of the Council appointed under paragraphs (1)(c) and (1)(d) to attend meetings of the Council in place of the member when the member is for any reason unable to attend.

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When attending meetings of the Council in place of a member, an alternate member shall for all purposes be deemed to be a member of the Council.

Deputy Chairman

The Deputy Chairman shall, during the absence of the

Chairman at any meeting, preside over the meeting.

Secretary

Members of a committee established under subsection (1)

may be appointed from amongst members of the Council.

The Chairman of a committee established under subsection (1), shall be appointed by the Council from among its members.

The committee established under subsection (1) may invite any person to attend any meeting of a committee for the purpose of advising it on any matter under discussion.

The members of a committee and any person invited under subsection (4) may be paid such allowance as the Council may determine with the approval of the Minister.

Appointment, reappointment, revocation and resignation

The Minister may reappoint any member for a period of three years.

The appointment of any member of the Council may at any time be revoked by the Minister without assigning any reason for the revocation.

A member of the Council may at any time resign his office by giving a written notice addressed to the Minister.

Members to devote time to Council

if he dies;

if there has been proved against him, or he has been convicted on, a charge in respect of—

an offence involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude;

if his conduct, whether in connection with his duties as a member of the Council or otherwise, has been such as to bring discredit to the Council;

if he becomes a bankrupt;

if he is of unsound mind or is otherwise incapable of discharging his duties;

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if he resigns from his office; or

if he absents himself from three consecutive meetings of the Council without leave of the Chairman, or in the case of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, without leave of the Minister.

Meetings

In the absence of Chairman and Deputy Chairman, the members present at the meeting shall elect a member amongst the members present to preside the meeting.

The quorum of the Council shall be twelve persons.

If on any question to be determined by the Council there is an equality of votes, the Chairman, Deputy Chairman or member presiding over the meeting, shall have a casting vote in addition to his deliberative vote.

Council may invite others to meetings

Any minutes made of a meeting of the Council shall, if duly signed, be admissible in evidence in any legal proceedings without further proof.

Every meeting of the Council in respect of the proceedings of which minutes have been so made shall be deemed to have been duly convened and held and all members at the meeting to have been duly qualified to act.

Procedure

Without prejudice to the generality of the provision of subsection (1) on his powers, functions and duties, the Director

General shall be responsible for—

The Director General shall have an official seal for the authentication of documents required for the purposes of exercising his powers, performing his functions and discharging his duties under this Act.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, on the advice of the Minister, may appoint a public officer to be the Deputy Director General of Skills Development, as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.

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The Minister may appoint a public officer to be the Director,

Deputy Director, Principal Assistant Director, Senior Assistant

Director and Assistant Director and other officers as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.

If for any reason the Director General is unable to exercise the powers, perform the functions or discharge the duties of his office, the powers shall be had and may be exercised, the functions shall be performed and the duties shall be discharged by the Deputy Director General.

Delegation of powers

Delegation made under this section shall not preclude the Director General himself from performing or exercising the functions or powers so delegated.

Powers of the Minister to give direction

The Director General may, at his discretion, authorize any person, organization or other body of persons to develop National

Occupational Skills Standards on his behalf.

All Standards developed under subsections (1) and (2), shall be the property of the Government.

All Standards developed under subsections (1) and (2), shall be submitted to the Council for its approval.

Upon the approval of the Council under subsection (4), the Standards shall form part of the National Occupational Skills

Standards.

Review and variation of Standards

Any variation of any part of the National Occupational

Skills Standards shall be submitted to the Council for its approval.

Use of National Occupational Skills Standards

For the purposes of conducting skills training, all accredited programmes shall conform to the National Occupational Skills

Standards.

The National Occupational Skills Standards shall be used as a measure of proficiency leading to the award of a Certificate.

The National Occupational Skills Standards may be utilized in any other way as the Director General deems fit.

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it has a training curriculum that is capable of providing skills training and assessment to meet the requirements of the relevant National Occupational Skills Standards;

it has, or has access to premises, training facilities or technologies for the purpose of providing skills training and undertaking assessment to meet the requirements of the relevant Standards;

it has under its employment, or has access to, qualified and skilled instructors capable of providing skills training and assessment to meet the requirements of the relevant

National Occupational Skills Standards; and

it is able to meet the quality assurance policies and procedures stipulated by the Director General.

Application for accreditation

Every application shall be accompanied with such documents, information and fee as may be prescribed by the Minister.

At any time after receiving an application for accreditation and before it is determined, the Director General may by written notice require the skills training provider to provide additional documents and information within a specified period.

Where the additional documents and information required under subsection (3) are not provided by the skills training provider

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within the specified period or any of such extended period as may be allowed by the Director General, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn and not be further proceeded with, but a fresh application may be made by the skills training provider.

The Director General or any officer of the department responsible for skills development shall at any reasonable time inspect the skills training provider’s premises to verify the authenticity of the application.

Power to grant or refuse application

grant the application and issue a certificate of accreditation to the skills training provider for a period of three years;

or

refuse the application, stating the grounds for refusal.

Certificate of accreditation

The skills training provider shall cause a copy of the certificate of accreditation to be exhibited in a conspicuous place in the premises specified in the certificate of accreditation.

Upon ceasing to provide skills training for its accredited programme, the skills training provider shall surrender the certificate of accreditation to the Director General within three months from the date of such cessation.

Application for renewal of accreditation

After having considered an application for renewal of accreditation, the Director General may—

if the skills training provider has failed to maintain the

Standard and quality required of it;

if the skills training provider has breached any condition attached to the certificate of accreditation; or

on any other reasonable grounds.

A written notice of the intention to suspend or revoke the certificate of accreditation shall be served on the skills training provider and the notice shall specify the grounds for such suspension or revocation.

Notice of suspension or revocation of the certificate of accreditation

the refusal of the Director General under paragraph 25(b)

to grant a certificate of accreditation;

the refusal of the Director General under paragraph 27(2)(b) to grant the renewal of accreditation; or

the suspension or revocation of a certificate of accreditation under section 29, may appeal in writing to the Minister within thirty days from the date on which the notice of refusal, suspension or revocation is served on the skills training provider.

Power of Minister on appeals

The Minister shall communicate in writing to the Director

General and the person making the appeal of his decision in subsection (1).

Decision of Minister on appeals

Malaysian Skills Certificate;

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Malaysian Skills Diploma;

Malaysian Skills Advanced Diploma; or

Statements of Achievement.

Requirements to be met before Certificate can be awarded

For the purpose of recognition under subsection (1), the

Council may establish an evaluation and recognition committee to advise and to make recommendations to the Council on matters relating to such recognition.

enter at any time any premises or any part of the premises which belongs to or is being used, whether permanently or otherwise, by a skills training provider for the purpose of providing skills training for an accredited programme;

inspect such book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article in the physical form or in the electronic medium, as he may consider necessary;

make copies or take extracts from any book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article in the physical form or in the electronic medium, inspected under paragraph (b); and

require any person, being a member of the board of directors, a chief executive, employee, or a trainee of such skills training provider, to produce for his inspection any book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article in the physical form or in the electronic medium, which is in the possession or custody of the person or under his control or within his power to furnish in relation to—

the management of the skills training provider; or

investigate into any offence under this Act;

conduct any inquiry under this Act; or

enforce any provision of this Act.

Powers of examination

Any statement made by any person under this section shall be admissible as evidence in any proceedings in court under this

Act against the person or against any other person.

Production of documents, etc.

require any such person to produce to him such book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article in the physical form or in the electronic medium; and

inspect, make copies of, take extracts from, remove and detain any book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article in the physical form or in the electronic medium.

Seizure of documents, etc.

to enter the premises, if need be by force; and

to search for and seize, and to remove any book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article in the physical form or in the electronic medium—

in respect of which an offence has been committed;

break open any outer or inner door of the premises or any fence, enclosure, gate or other obstruction to the premises, in order to effect entry thereinto;

remove by force any obstruction to the entry, search, seizure or removal as he is empowered to effect; or

detain every person found in the premises until it has been searched.

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Power to enter premises without warrant or notice

the investigation would be adversely affected;

the object of the entry is likely to be frustrated;

the book, minute book, register, document, financial statement, material or other article sought may be removed or interfered with; or

the evidence sought may be tampered with or destroyed, he may exercise in, and in respect of, the premises all the powers referred to in section 46 in as full and ample a manner as if he were authorized to do so by a warrant issued under that section.

Power to seal

without being specified in the certificate of accreditation under subsection 26(1); or

in contravention of any of the conditions imposed by the

Minister or the Director General, the enforcement officer may forthwith take such steps as he may deem necessary to or by any means seal such premises.

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The skills training provider using the premises which has been sealed shall—

The seal shall be removed if—

The enforcement officer acting under this section shall not be liable for any costs arising out of such action or damage to the premises sealed under this section unless such damage was wilfully done.

Any action taken under this section in respect of premises shall not prohibit the prosecution for any skills training provider using such premises in contravention of this Act.

Production of authority card

The authority card specified in subsection (1) shall be issued by the Director General.

No entitlement as to costs on proceedings, damages or other relief, etc.

No person shall promote a skills training programme as an accredited programme, whether by advertisement, prospectus, brochure or otherwise, unless the skills training programme has been accredited under this Act.

Any person who contravenes subsections (1) and (2)

commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

Control of advertisement

cease the continued publication or display of such advertisement;

modify the advertisement in such manner as may be specified by the Director General;

cease the publication or display of any advertisement which is wholly or substantially a repetition of such advertisement;

take all practical steps to withdraw the advertisement from every publication or display of it; or

publish a statement in like manner as the advertisement issued earlier to retract or modify such advertisement.

The Director General may vary, add to, alter, revoke or otherwise amend any direction issued under subsection (1), by a notice in writing to the skills training provider concerned.

Any advertisement in relation to the skills training provider shall bear the approval number of the skills training provider and accredited programme.

Any person or skills training provider who contravenes the directions of the Director General under subsection (1) commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.

Offences and penalties relating to certification

Any skills training provider other than accredited centres which issues or awards any certification claimed to be complying with the Standards commits an offence under this Act and shall,

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on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.

Penalty for contravening conditions