Interdisciplinary Competencies and Workforce Readiness in Malaysian TVET: A Systematic Literature Review on the Complementary Role of General Studies

Abstract

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions across the globe are expected to provide graduates who demonstrate not only technical skills but also transversal competencies that match the changing needs of labour markets. Of these critical employability attributes, recent global skills analyses of 2023 strongly emphasize communication, analytical reasoning, and ethical professionalism (World Economic Forum, 2023; OECD, 2023). At Malaysian TVET institutions (under the Ministry of Human Resources), General Studies subjects such as Islamic Education, Moral Education, Fundamental Mathematics, and Technical English function. Nevertheless, very little systematic synthesis has been done regarding their complementary role in workforce readiness. Here, we present a systematic literature review (SLR) using PRISMA 2020 guidelines to synthesize empirical and review studies published from years 2020 through 2025. The searches in Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC resulted in 360 records, and a total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria after two rounds of stringent screening. Three competency domains emerged through thematic analysis: communicative competence (83%), quantitative/analytical competence (67%), and ethical competence (61%) were consistently associated with workforce readiness