[iCONADA Research Team] Let heritage become a pathway to jobs for Perak’s youth

WHEN we talk about cultural heritage, our first instinct is usually preservation. 

We want old buildings protected, historical records documented, places of worship maintained and stories passed down to the next generation. 

All this matters. But at a time when young people are increasingly worried about jobs, rising living costs and whether they can build a future in their hometowns, perhaps we should ask a different question: 

Can heritage also become a pathway to employment and entrepreneurship?

For Perak, the answer could be yes.

The state has a remarkable combination of cultural, historical and natural assets – from Ipoh's old town and former mining landscapes to new villages, places of worship and the limestone hills that have shaped the identity of the Kinta Valley.

Perak Cave Temple（霹靂洞）, for example, is more than a cave temple and tourist attraction. Its murals, calligraphy, religious art and physical landscape preserve layers of community memory and history.

The work of scholars such as Prof. Toh Teong Chuan（杜忠全教授） and Dr.Tan Ai Boay（陳愛梅博士）demonstrates why such places deserve to be studied systematically. Their research into Ipoh's cave temples combined fieldwork, historical records, artefacts and oral accounts to document a part of Perak's Chinese cultural heritage that could otherwise disappear from public memory.

But what happens after the research is completed and the book is published?

We should proceed with the endeavours from there.

Heritage should move from the book to the project, from the project to skills, and from skills to livelihoods.

This is where heritage can find an unexpected partner in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

A photography student can document a historic site. A film student can produce a short documentary. A design student can develop a visual identity for a heritage trail. An animation student can reinterpret a local legend. An information technology student can build a digital archive. Students trained in Geographic Information System (GIS), 3D modelling or augmented reality can create digital maps and immersive experiences.

The heritage site then becomes more than a destination.

It becomes a real classroom.

This idea is particularly relevant as Perak strengthens its TVET agenda. The state’s Perak Sejahtera 2030 framework places emphasis on the TVET Corridor, skills development, employability and entrepreneurship, alongside initiatives such as “1 Citizen 1 Skill”, “1 Family 1 Entrepreneur” and “1 District 1 Economic Activity”.

At the national level, TVET is also increasingly being positioned not as a second-choice education pathway but as a route towards professional careers, entrepreneurship and industry leadership. ([The Star][2])

The opportunity, therefore, is to connect these two agendas.

One possible idea is simple: One heritage site, one project.

Every heritage site can become a source of real-world assignments and industry exposure.

Perak Cave Temple could become a digital documentation project. Ipoh’s historic streets could become an interactive heritage map. New villages could become oral-history projects. Former mining sites could be transformed into virtual-reality experiences. Traditional architecture could become a 3D modelling or photography project.

However, there is one important condition.

These must not remain merely student assignments.

Government agencies, local authorities, universities, TVET institutions and industry players need to create real demand for such work.

If a tourism agency needs a short promotional film, why not commission young local filmmakers? If a museum needs digital content, why not create a student-industry project? If a heritage organisation needs photographs, maps or social media content, why not give local trainees an opportunity to deliver them?

This is where a government-industry-academia-community （鄉產學）partnership as proposed by Dr. Tan Beng Huat （陳明發博士）becomes meaningful.

The community provides the stories and places. Government provides the platform and initial demand. Educational institutions develop the talent. Industry provides market exposure, mentorship and, eventually, employment.

Young people are no longer merely trainees；They become problem-solvers.

More importantly, they can begin their careers locally.

We often speak about youth entrepreneurship as though every young person should immediately start a company. That is unrealistic.

For many young people, what they need first is not a company registration certificate.

They need a first project.

Then a first client, follow by first payment.

Then a portfolio, follow by another client.

Only after that may a freelance activity grow into a small enterprise.

This progression – skill → first project → portfolio → client → income → enterprise – may be a more practical way of reducing the anxiety surrounding youth entrepreneurship.

It also gives a more meaningful measure of TVET success.

Instead of asking only how many certificates have been awarded, we should ask how many young people have obtained their first job, first project, first client or first entrepreneurial income as a result of their training.

This matters because employment anxiety is not always about the absence of opportunities. Sometimes it is about not knowing how to enter the economy in the first place.

Heritage can provide that entry point.

A young person who learns to photograph, film, design, map, code or market a heritage site is not simply learning about the past. He or she is developing a portfolio that can be shown to the next employer or client.

This is where the efforts of heritage researchers, policymakers and educators can converge.

The work of documenting Perak's cultural heritage gives us the content.

TVET gives young people the practical skills to reinterpret that content.

The creative industries provide the tools;tourism provides a market.

And entrepreneurship provides a pathway for the skills to become income.

This is the larger question Perak should consider.

How can we turn the things that make a place unique into opportunities for the people who call that place home?

Heritage should not merely answer the question, “Who were we?”

It should also help young people answer another question:

“How can I build my future here?” 

If Perak can connect heritage with TVET, digital technology, creative industries and entrepreneurship, its limestone caves, old streets, places of worship, former mining landscapes and community stories will no longer be seen simply as relics to be preserved. 

They can become classrooms，projects，portfolios,careers and businesses. And, ultimately, they can become sources of livelihood.

The most successful heritage policy is therefore not one that simply keeps the past intact. 

It is one that allows the past to create possibilities for the future.

[1] Progress and heritage can co-exist | The Star

[2] TVET increasingly preferred by youth, says Ahmad Zahid | The Star"

[3]Talent we cannot afford to waste | The Star