The development of green technology has intensified in the early 21st century as evident by the increasing attention given to it by governments and industries. This development requires more employees who possess generic green skills. Questions on what generic green skills are, is still unclear and needs further investigation. This qualitative study explored the perspective of employers and academicians about the meaning of generic green skills. Interviews with ten personnel (three from industries currently involved in green practices and seven academicians from the Department of Technical and Engineering Education, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia were conducted from January to May 2015. Results indicate that employers and academicians are fully aware of the importance of environmental sustainability. Although some were found to be ignorant about the term generic green skills, they showed an inclination towards referring to generic green skills as green practices.
Dr.Hamid Zolkifli
President of the Association of Technical and Vocational Education Malaysia
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Technical and Engineering Education Department
Malaysia
Issue 6
Field of expertise/main research projects:
Dr. Mohd. Zolkifli Abd. Hamid is currently a senior lecturer at the Technical and Engineering Education Department, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He obtained Bachelor of Science (Food Science and Nutrition) and Post Graduate Diploma in Education from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a Master in Education and PhD (Technical and Vocational Education) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Among the positions that he held were Head of Department for External Program and Academic Manager for Undergraduate Program. He actively involved in conducting research on generic green skill and pre-service teacher education. In addition he has written numerous papers and presented at national and international conferences and seminar. Mohd. Zolkifli is also a reviewer for the Journal of Asian Academic Society for Vocational Education and Training (JAVET) and panel of assessor for Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA). At present, he is the President of the Association of Technical and Vocational Education Malaysia. Main research topics: Generic green skill