Malaysian Employers Federation president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s job mismatch situation will persist if students do not make the right pick of courses or are not given their preferred choice, thus ending up with jobs unrelated to their interests, says Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman.
“This leads to long-term losses for both individuals and the economy as they end up in careers unrelated to their expertise and qualifications,” he said, describing the situation as “unfortunate”.
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He added that the choice of courses pursued by undergraduates played a crucial role in their ability to secure jobs matching their qualifications.
Recent data from the Statistics Department showed that over 1.91 million or 37.4% of college or university graduates were employed in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs.Syed Hussain, when contacted for his views on this, cited another factor which contributed to the job mismatch – the imbalance between the number of graduates and job opportunities.
“With an annual influx of about 300,000 graduates into the workforce, there simply aren’t enough new positions being created to accommodate them all.
“This scarcity of suitable jobs leads to graduates taking up positions that do not match their qualifications,” he said.
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To address the job mismatch problem, Syed Hussain said it was important for the authorities to consider the choices students make when applying for the courses they wanted to take up.
“By allowing students to pursue their interests and aligning their qualifications with career opportunities, authorities can help ensure a better match between graduates and the job market.
“Raising awareness among parents and students about available opportunities in different fields can also guide their decision-making process.”
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He said that it was imperative for the government to accelerate efforts to revive the economy and create a favourable business environment that attracts high-quality investments that would lead to the creation of more desirable jobs.“Job opportunities evolve with changes in the workplace and demand for specific skills, or industries may not last indefinitely.
“As such, the authorities and educational institutions must be flexible, introducing new courses that align with emerging demands,” he added.
While it could be a challenging task to determine the precise number of workers needed in different sectors and appropriate supply of graduates, he said that careful consideration of upskilling and reskilling opportunities was necessary to bridge the gap between available jobs and the workforce.
Citing the same Statistics Department report, Syed Hussain said that approximately 52% of employees in Malaysia are working in jobs unrelated to their field of study.
“These include semi-skilled and low-skilled positions which constitute a significant portion of the workforce.
“The demand for these jobs is driven by various economic sectors such as services, manufacturing, construction and agriculture,” he said.
However, he said it was crucial to note that the economy is undergoing a transformation in line with the Industrial Revolution 4 (IR 4.0), where the shift towards digitalisation and automation requires a highly skilled and adaptable workforce.
“To ensure graduates are equipped with the skills needed for the evolving job market, Malaysia’s education system must be more flexible.
“It should introduce digital skills and promote a continual lifelong learning process,” he added.
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Syed Hussain also said the traditional approach to business has changed dramatically, particularly in a post-Covid-19 world.
With companies increasingly implementing mechanisation, automation and artificial intelligence (AI), he said graduates must possess knowledge and proficiency in these areas to remain relevant and employable in the labour market.
“It has become essential for job seekers to possess highly skilled, adaptable and resilient abilities, along with proficiency in both English and the national language.”
However, he observed a rather worrying trend in which there was a declining enrolment in the science stream as more students pursue degrees in general disciplines that do not align with current industrial needs.
“If this trend persists, Malaysia may struggle to produce a workforce that is highly employable,” he added.
