The increasing unemployment rate among the graduates in Malaysia is a worrying trend. For many years, the issue cropped up again and again, made the news headlines, and even hit the parliament. The days have passed when a degree scroll can become your automatic passport to employment. Higher education is no longer a symbol of career success. This may sound painful for graduates but let’s face it. It is reality, no matter how harsh it may appear.In July 2006, The Sun newspaper reported that the unemployment rate of public universities has reached a staggering 70%, whereas the private institutions recorded 26% and foreign graduates 34%.
1. Economy Firstly, the economy factor also causes why fresh graduate unemployed. The changing of the economic structure and landscape is a probable cause for the rise in the unemployment. For many years, the manufacturing has been the strongest sector in the country until it is now being progressively replaced by the services sector. The services sector requires people who do not only possess the right technical knowledge, but also those who possess the right soft skills – interpersonal, communication, wisdom, maturity and are business oriented.
2. Quality of education Secondly, the quality of education becomes a significant cause to this current situation. It seems that every year the country produces more and more brilliant students. This is evident with the increasing number of straight A students in SPM. It is also easier to find degree holders with first class honors. Surely, this is a good yardstick of the graduate’s quality. My own experience with graduates not once, but many times has convinced me that today’s academic achievement has little to do with how well you can excel in the working world. I used to short list 4-5 first class graduates for an interview and in the end rejected them all, and hired a second class student instead. It seems that the country is blessed with institutions highly capable to produce low quality, academic achievers. This statement may not bode well with some of the institutions out there but this should be taken as a challenge, not a mockery. (Abdul Razak Ahmad, New Straits times Sunday, March 20 2005)
The Essay on Education and Students
In order to create an environment conducive to learning, the learner must be assisted by the mentor to identify their learning needs (NMC 2006). It became clear that the students had concerns about starting their placement and particularly wanted to know what the ward/placement area and the staff ‘were like’ and voiced worries about being accepted and not knowing anything or anyone when ‘A’ ...
3.Choosy job seekers and Choosy employers Thirdly, the graduate sometimes is very choosy when applying for their job and the employer is very choosy as well. Nowadays, candidates are expecting job offer to come with a package: a good pay, convenient working location, no shift, no work beyond 6pm and so on, with everything handed in a silver platter. Whereas, if the employer is putting ‘working experience’ as a pre-requisite to get a job, when is the fresh graduates going to get their first job? This scenario makes the topic become worst.
4. Lack of guidance Last but not least, the graduates, lack of guidance when apply for the job. Blaming the graduates themselves for the whole predicament is not entirely right either. After all, they are products of a flawed system. Majority of them are oblivious to the expectation from them in the employment market. Upon graduation, they become babies again, not ready to face the real world. The supposedly days of liberation suddenly becomes the days of uncertainty. This happens due to obvious discrepancy between the education and the employment. Example, study is study and work is work. This gap needs an immediate bridging. While organizing a career fair and sending penultimate students for industrial placement are commendable effort, these are just not enough.
