EMPLOYABILITY was as unfamiliar as a foreign language two generations ago, but beginning in 2000 it was all the rage in universities and colleges around the world.
From European to Asian universities, none wanted to be left behind. Some were even advertising their diploma and degree programmes as guaranteeing close to 100 per cent employable graduates.
Gone are the days of universities dictating what the industry might have.
Today, with the fast-evolving job market, being work ready means hitting the ground running.
Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman has a “how to” for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia school-leavers to boost their employability: focus on industry-relevant diplomas and certificates.
He names TVET (technical and vocational education and training) and skills diplomas as two particularly valuable examples as they are designed around real workplace needs.
Drilling down further, he lists digital, technical, healthcare and logistics disciplines as offering the strongest employability.
The job market, with its high demand for software developers, data analysts, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning specialists, is a reflection of this new development.
Putrajaya‘s 13th Malaysia Plan, New Industrial Master Plan 2030 and the RM6.8 billion TVET allocation under the 2024 Budget plus industry efforts to correct skills shortages are steering the country towards digital transformation.
A 2024 study by MEF supports this view. The top five skills that employers are looking for are: communication, digital literacy, customer service and workplace etiquette, teamwork and interpersonal skills and problem-solving and critical thinking.
Salaries, too, reflect an employer’s market, with ICT and sales being two categories of career that are high paying: between RM3,200 and RM4,500.
But Jobstreet by SEEK in Malaysia managing director Nicholas Lam tells this newspaper that while there were more opportunities for fresh graduates, they continue to face a disconnect between their expectations and what employers are willing to offer.
To him, the main challenge is aligning graduate expectations and labour-market realities. Like the gig workers, the fresh graduates want to work remotely, or if they have to, settle for a hybrid arrangement.
This is not what the employers want because entry-level positions in Malaysia such as operational, technical and customer-facing fields still require on-site presence.
Lam cites hospitality, logistics and trades, where physical operations are essential, as examples of fast-growing sectors. If the mismatch continues, one solution for the employers is to go fully robotic.
Factories and restaurants have already taken this approach with encouraging results. Other sectors where robots are being used are manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and warehousing and agriculture, resulting in new capabilities and increased productivity.
The other option is to increase the quota of foreign workers for jobs that require on-site presence.
The takeaway of all this is: SPM school-leavers have no choice but to boost their employability. And this means being ready to be physically present at the work place if so required.
Remote or hybrid work and high salaries don’t quite match.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
