INDUSTRY ALIGNED FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING COMPETENCIES IN TEXTILE DESIGN WITHIN MALAYSIAN TVET

Malaysia’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been positioned as a national priority for strengthening workforce readiness and industrial competitiveness. However, in textile design education, there remains no comprehensive, discipline-specific framework for assessing competencies that integrates national standards with evolving industry requirements. Existing models are largely generic, emphasising employability skills and accreditation compliance, while overlooking hybrid competencies such as creativity, sustainability, and digitalisation. This concept paper proposes an industry-aligned competency assessment framework for textile design education in Malaysian TVET. Guided by Competency-Based Education (CBE) theory and Constructive Alignment, the framework synthesises workplace requirements, MQF 2.0 outcomes, NOSS descriptors, and authentic teaching and assessment practices. It identifies five competency domains: technical, creative, transversal, sustainability, and digital structured through performance indicators, rubric-based assessments, and work-based evidence. Conceptual validation is achieved through expert review, consensus methods, and alignment audits. The proposed framework contributes to both theory and practice: theoretically, it advances the integration of CBE and alignment principles in creative vocational education; practically, it provides policymakers, institutions, and industry stakeholders with a tool for curriculum design, accreditation, and programme review. Future research will pilot and empirically validate the model, supporting Malaysia’s broader TVET transformation agenda.