DUE to the aftermath of the pandemic, fresh graduates are facing difficulties entering the job market as businesses continue to re-assess its manpower requirements, trimming down its own employees and adopting no-recruitment policies.

While the rate of unemployment among youths (those aged from 15 to 24) have always been higher compared to adults, the rate rose above 13% as of September 2020 compared to 2019’s 10.5%, bringing about 232,000 jobless local graduates nationwide. 

However, the Government is still providing aid to these unemployed youths though programmes and initiatives such as the PROTÉGÉ-Ready to Work (RTW) that was recently launched by the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry (Medac).

According to Aisling Group managing director Melissa Norman, similar initiatives would help boost graduates’ employability, as long as new jobseekers would be open to temper their expectations.

“Graduates have to be open to opportunities outside their fields, in order to get at least some work experience that could help them secure jobs more in line with their career goals later,” Norman told FocusM.

She also pointed out that sectors such as e-commerce, online retail and logistics, information and communications technology (ICT), financial services, healthcare and manufacturing continue to offer various roles for job seekers with the right skill sets and mindsets, even at entry levels.

Norman believes that while some roles may not necessarily be the job seekers’ first choice, it is more crucial to get their foot out the door as a start and gain some working experience before aiming for their career of choice.

Fresh graduates should also prepare to adjust their expected their salary range and have a review of their own priorities and goals before beginning their journey, since the average starting out salary for graduates is about RM2,000.

“They have to be aware and understand the realities of today’s competitive job landscape – not just in Malaysia, but globally as well,” Norman cautioned.

With increasing competition and digitalisation, employers are looking for employees who already possess good digital skills and soft skills, have the desire to learn, and who are able to multitask.

Norman also suggested for industry players, educational institutions and training providers to play a part in supporting the youngest members of the Malaysian workforce.

For the educational and training sectors, there needs to be a concerted effort to ensure that the programmes provided by our educational institutions continue to align to strike a balance between supply and demand.

The issue skills mismatch has been identified as one of the key reasons our fresh graduates are not lack employability after they complete their studies.

Working with industry players could help to bridge the gap, to ensure the future workforce needs are met by the future talent.

For industry players, employers can consider taking on unemployed fresh graduates on an apprenticeship or internship basis, to provide them with the experience they need to eventually move onto permanent opportunities later.

Taking on interns could also be beneficial for companies as they may discover new and hidden talent who could in time be absorbed as full-time employees, and increasing productivity and retention. – Feb 20, 2021

https://focusmalaysia.my/business/re-evaluate-your-expectations-fresh-graduates-its-bad-out-there/