Ts. Zainab Ahmad is the first female Director General of the Department of Polytechnic and Community College Education (DPCCE), Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia.  DPCCE is the biggest TVET provider in Malaysia which includes public and private TVET institutions, 36 polytechnics and 105 community colleges nationwide.

She has vast experience in the areas of national policies and strategic direction for TVET and lifelong learning at community colleges and polytechnics as well as training and career development that include internationalization initiatives for lecturers and students.

Ts. Zainab Ahmad started her career as a lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Department at Politeknik Ungku Omar, Ipoh in 1985. She obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering from Loughborough University, United Kingdom, a Master’s Degree in Power Engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology (Counselling) from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

At the international level, she represents Malaysia as a member of the Governing Board of the South East Asia Ministries of Education Officers (SEAMEO) Regional Centre for Lifelong Learning (SEAMEO CELLL).  She is also a member of the UTHM Governing Board (LPU) and the first Deputy Secretariat of the National TVET Council (MTVET, 2021 – 2022)

She is also a member of the Joint Technical Committee for Malaysian TVET Quality Assurance under the coordination of the Malaysian Qualification Agency (MQA) and Department of Skills Development (DSD) and a Permanent Member of the National Skill Development Council (MPPK).