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 lets face it. It is reality, no matter how harsh it may appear.
In July !!", The #un newspaper reported that the unemployment rate of public universities
has reached a staggering $!%, whereas the private institutions recorded "% and foreign
graduates &'%. (ut of the $!%, the highest unemployment was contributed by the following
statistics)
*. +niversiti Te,nologi M-.-, +iTM / &,$0 1*".%2
. +niversiti +tara Malaysia, ++M / *,3& 1$."%2
&. +niversiti Te,nologi Malaysia, +TM / *,*'$ 13.$%2
'. +niversiti 4ebangsaan Malaysia, +4M / 5$* 1'.0%2
3. +niversiti 6utra Malaysia, +6M / 5*5 1'.3%2
The situation was somewhat different before the *55$ crisis when Malaysia was having a
vibrant employment and graduates were in high demand. 7ut those were the good old days
and things are no longer the same today. Is the 8ob mar,et getting more competitive, or it is
the 8ob see,ers and graduates are actually unmar,etable these days9 :an we blame it entirely
on education9
6erhaps we can ta,e a loo, at some contributing factors)
1. Economy
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
re;uires people who do not only possess the right technical ,nowledge, but also those who
possess the right soft s,ills / interpersonal, communication, wisdom, maturity and are
business oriented. <ow, getting graduates with that ,ind of ;uality is a tough endeavor these
days. It is even hard to find graduates who can spea, moderate =nglish.
-dditionally, unli,e the manufacturing sector, a company providing services would not
re;uire a large number of staff to be employed. #tatistics show that between !!" and !!$,
the countrys manufacturing employment grew by &%, from &.'' million wor,ers, to &.&'$
million. The business services sector employment, on the other hand grew by ."%, from
!.$$* million, to !.$5* million.
<ow, where >?6 1>ross ?omestic 6roduct2 growth is concerned, the manufacturing growth
recorded &.*% whereas services tops the chart with a thumping 5% growth.
In =nglish, this means that while the employment growth of services sector is lower
compared to manufacturing, it is actually contributing to much higher economic achievement.
>et the picture9
2. Quality of education
It seems that every year the country produces more and more brilliant students. This is
evident with the increasing number of straight - students in #6M. It is also easier to find
degree holders with first class honors. #urely, this is a good yardstic, of the graduates
;uality. Is it9 <ot so, it seems.
My own e@perience with graduates / not once, but many times / has convinced me that
todays academic achievement has little to do with how well you can e@cel in the wor,ing
world. I used to be short listing 'A3 first class graduates for an interview and in the end
re8ected them all, and hired a second class student instead. It seems that the country is blessed
with institutions highly capable to produce low ;uality, academic achievers. This statement
may not bode well with some of the institutions out there but this should be ta,en as a
challenge, not a moc,ery.
3. Choosy job seekers
I remember when I first got my first 8ob in 6enang, I did not have a permanent place to stay
as my hometown was bac, in Terengganu. I was temporarily staying in an old friends house.
I also did not own any car or motorbi,e. Bhen as,ed by my boss how I was going to report
for my first day of wor,, I told him that I would be using the companys bus.
-s the buses were used to transport the production operators, my boss laughed at my face and
told me that I would be the first engineer in the history of the company to have used bus
coming to wor,. I got a new place to stay, and my own car only after few months wor,ing
with the company. The most interesting part is that, I didnt even as, about the salary when I
accepted the 8obC
7ut how different it is today. <owadays, candidates are e@pecting 8ob offer to come with a
pac,age / a good pay, convenient wor,ing location, no shift, no wor, beyond "pm and so on,
with everything handed in a silver platter. Job see,ers have come to me to complaints and
made admissions that shoc,ed me till no end.
They are not willing to drive from #entul to :yber8aya because DIts very far and I do not
want to spend this much money on toll everydayE. -nother was not willing to ta,e the F.T
from :heras to Mas8id Jame, because Dtoo many people in the train and this will ma,e me
stressful.E To date I am yet to come across a 8ob see,er that will tell me, DIm so glad with
this opportunity. -s for the transportation, accommodation and other matters, no worries, I
will settle them from my end here. I am 8ust glad I dont need to rely on my parents for
poc,et money anymore.E Bill you be one9
4. Lack of guidance
7laming the graduates themselves for the whole predicament is not entirely right either. -fter
all, they are products of a flawed system. Ma8ority of them are oblivious to the e@pectation
from them in the employment mar,et. +pon 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 / i.e. study is study and wor, is wor,. This gap needs an immediate bridging.
Bhile organiGing a career fair and sending penultimate students for industrial placement are
commendable effort, these are 8ust not enough. >raduating students need a closer feel to the
employment world. The career office should be their second home. If that also means
bringing e@ecutives, engineers and managers into the university to give practical advice to the
students, by all means do it. +niversiti Te,nologi 6etronas, +T6 has pioneered this move,
which won a praise by The #tar reader today.
I must ta,e my hat off to +niversity Technology 6etronas 1+T62, which has formed an
Industry -dvisory 6anel 1I-62, and invites professionals from the industry to review their
curriculum and suggest areas for improvement. +T6 is serious about this and has
implemented many of the suggestions introduced by its I-6.
+T6 also has an ad8unct lectures series where professionals are called in to give lectures to
the undergraduates. I thin, these are good initiatives that other universities would do well to
emulate.
A #hyam Fa,shmanan, The #tar, *$ -pril !!0
5. Choosy emloyers
There is no need for long e@planation here. -s Haid Ibrahim 1that new M62 put it in his boo,,
In >ood Faith, its catchA situation / if the employer is putting Iwor,ing e@perience as a
preAre;uisite to get a 8ob, when is the fresh graduates going to get their first 8ob9
!ther osts you may "ant to read#
1. Mi@ed =mployment Trend in #ingapore
2. Fresh >raduates to +ndergo 6olishing
3. =mployers Bant =nglish #pea,ing >rads
4. :ommunity :olleges to Train Jobless >raduates
5. Million Jobless >raduates in :hina
6. Microsoft IT -cademy To =@pand
7. More Money For Jobless >raduates
8. Jouth +nemployment #tatistic Hits 5!m
Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is
the author of two books, The ala!sian "ob Seeker#s $ile%%a and &uat $uit Tanpa Ker'a
akan (a'i )How to ake one! *ithout a "ob+, a,ailable in %a'or book stores
nationwide. -ou can reach hi% at .ulkifli%usa/at0g%ail.co%.
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1$ comments %
K* ladylike on !'.'.!0 at ")&* am
the title caught my attention to read through this article. hhm..well, very true about the
points.
I thin, I fall under the category point no.&. 7ut when I reAthin,, would I want to get a
8ob that doesnt has potential in growing and e@panding my capabilities9
mmmL..many other factors and elements are involved. Bhen I was in high school, I
dont understand why people are 8obless and I was totally not interested with this
issue. Hence now, I contributed to the percentage of 8obless youthC haha
.eply
K Emloyers &ant English 'eaking (raduates ) '*!+C,+EE+ on !".3.!0 at *)!&
pm
M...N finding themselves disillusioned after being re8ected by employers, one after
another. The issue of unemployment among fresh graduates is not new and has been
lingering around for M...N
K& -nemloyment# . 'tes (raduates Can /ake ) '*!+C,+EE+ on !0.*.!0 at **)!"
am
M...N =ditors 6ic, O Too many parties have now been tal,ing and discussing about the
unemployment issues among the graduates in Malaysia such that we can probably
compile all the findings and arguments into a stac, of 6h? M...N
K' chin on *.*.!0 at &)** pm
I am conducting a research for my thesis as part of the re;uirement for my 7achelor
of =conomics 1Human .esource =conomics2. The title of this thesis is
D+nemployment -mong >raduatesE.
In my research, the respondents will include graduates who are not wor,ing yet, &
months after their convocation.
-ny of your friend not wor,ing yet, & months after their convocation9 If yes, can u
give me their email address9 :os I need their help to be my respondent in filling up
the ;uestionnaire.
:urrently, I faced a severe problem. I cant get any respondent who are not wor,ing
yet, & months after their convocation. Hopefully you can help me.
Jour coAoperation is much appreciated. Jour response will be use for the preparation
of thesis only and the information will be ,ept confidential. Than,sL
.eply
laGyworm repl! on 1ebruar! 23rd, 2445)
Hi, :hin..
I have few close friends who have been graduate and currently still unemployed.
Jou can send your survey ;uestionnaire to my yahoo mailbo@ and I can help you to
let them fill in for you.
AlaGywormA
.eply
haleem repl! on arch 6th, 2474)
hi chin,my name is haleem.im also doing hr econ in ums, sabah. read ur article n u r
aslo hr econ graduate.how u find about the studyLdoes it imply in ur real life and
wor, after ur graduation.hope to get a reply from u.than@ ya.nice to meet u.
.eply
K3 aisyah on !*.".!5 at **)! am
Fet me share some of employment e@perience with the unemployed out there.
I used to be ashamed to admit that Ive got only a general degree. 7ut not anymore as
I ,now now that I am on par with the ones with the first class degrees or even those
who possess master degrees. This I have come to realiGe when I as, around, most of
my collegues have master degrees.
I also understand now that having a general degree does not ma,e you less mar,etable
than those who have first class degree. I am not downgrading the emphasis of
achieving good ;ualification but lets not ma,e it the ultimate factor when you want
to find a 8ob. Just because you have got a first class degree you e@pect that you only
deserve to wor, for the best employers and in the best positions. Bell, it does not
wor, anymore, not now.
My e@perience has taught me to be humble and to start from the bottom. -s a fresh
graduate 1I ,now I am not much of a graduate2, I wor,ed as a cashier, washing dishes,
a lowly cler, and other mundane 8obs. 7ut at the same time, I also underwent for short
courses and got myself a postAgraduate diploma.
-nd now, I am at the same level with those who achieved flying colours bac, in their
university days and still are daGed and disilluisoned by their achievement bac, in the
universities that they had not realiGed that others are overta,ing them from all
directions.
.eply
K" sha"n teng on !.&.!5 at 3)&& pm
i am undergraduating a +, degree, heard of the rumouredAtrue issue indicating fresh
graduates encountering the unemployment problems. myriad types of reasons been
mentioned above and being discussed by all wal,s of life. is really graduates no merit
of ;ualification nowadays9 hence, whats the point of spending so much effort by
hammering at the assignements and notes9 i 8ust wanna voice out some of the ideas
li,e goverment and privates syndicates should produce more 8ob or other opportunites
li,e sending graduates for training li,e what is being carried out in singapore.
thereofre, graduates will be more appreciated and ameriolated day by day and this is
contributed to these particular company too..don give up malaysian, be more farA
sighted. we can ma,e itLLLLLL..
.eply
K$ hahn on !&.!5.!5 at ')' pm
To Fadyli,e,
That is what meant by pic,y, if really want to e@pand your capabilities, why dont you
try to loo, for e@periences first9 It is also one of the way to e@pand your
capabilities.?ont you thin, so9
Jou should test your capabilities before you want to e@pand it.
-s said by -isyah E start from bottomE.
.eply
K0 ts lim on !$.3.!5 at *)*' pm
i am *5 in year !!5..i am a diploma nd year now..i am not here to re;uest for
anyhting..i 8ust want to say your article bout the 3 reason why the fresh graduates are
unemployment is very good and very deep into heart..especially the point & and 3.. i
very agree with that..
.eply
K5 +ahim *ling on !*.**.*! at )&0 pm
-ssalam -lai,um.
The unemployment anywhere in the world is mainly because these 8obless graduates
refuse to humble themselves and accept any available 8ob offer, even that of pengawal
,eselamatan. There is plenty of vacancies for the 8ob position of pengawal
,eselamatan yet no ta,ers in the #tate of Mela,a, MalaysiaC The monthly salary of
.M $&! is ;uite good if you are a hardwor,ing person, but if you are e@tra
hardwor,ing and do more (ver Time, you can get *,'"! a monthC There are many
attractive features such as =6F, #(:#(, etc.
If you are a 8obless graduate in the #tate of Mela,a, and interested to wor, as a
pengawal ,eselamatan, please call me 1Mr .ahim 4ling2 at !*&A&$*!5$!, or
personally meet me at the =6F office 1pe8abat 4B#62, which is in -yer 4eroh.
-lternatively, you can meet my colleague Mr .osli Teh 1!*'A"30"352 at our Mela,a
branch office, which is located in Taman 7al;is 8ust opposite the Malim police
station.
.eply
K*! 0ulia on !.".*! at 3)&$ pm
It is ;uite true with the given factors contributing to unemployed graduates thesedays,
especially the third point. The unemployment issue is a constant concern to the
graduates.
Im currently underta,ing degree in economics and our group is conducting a research
on this issue P D:urrent career might not be the field you were trained inE. -re the
factors contributing to unemployment also contributing to my research topic9
.eply
K** esther on !&.*0.*! at *)!* pm
i have been 8obless for mths plus. i believe that many 8obs are available bt the salary
is a bit lower. i din say that we cant start from bottom but then they should pay the
salary that at least we can survive. we do not need to purposely go interview for
Ipengawal ,eselamatan. i do nt mean that v are over ;ualify bt then this 8ob can be
filled by others. some company have more than times interview. what they try to
test us9 the salary offered is rm*.3,. gt commission as well bt can survive wit this
amount in ,l. bt i really sad cG i dun wan to burden my parents anymore. i m going to
ta,e the offer which min pay rm*.0, n is a contract 8ob. as my fren say, we 8ust wor,
and at the same time find for better offer.
.eply
K* smasri on !'.!'.*! at *)* pm
.ight, with the rate of graduation, we will have more graduates than we can ever
imagine in &! years time. However, universities are designed to output people to be a
university professor, not really focusing on creativity, entrepreneurship, and
innovations. university, only train the brain part of our body only. Bhat happen to our
hand, feet, mouth etc. they are part of us also. -nd no strong institution that help the
children to flourish. .emember if the 7rain can effect the body, the 7ody can also
affect the brain. Foo, at magnetL
.eply
K*& ""h on !'.!$.*! at 5)!5 pm
ive noticed that many state the lac, of ;uality among fresh graduates as the main
reason for the high rate of unemployment. i do agree very much with this point.
however many employers are also to blame for this situation. i personally have friends
who are willing to learn as they are aware that they lac, e@perience and are merely
fresh graduates. but they get turned off by the salary offered. mind you one of them
graduated with a *st class in engineering from a u, university, has a good command
of english and was offered rm!!! a month with a five and half days of wor, per
wee,. he re8ected the offer as he felt he was worth more than that. my point is,
employers want good ;uality graduates but they are only willing to pay pittance for it.
the salary level has not changed for years. ! years bac, an engineering fresh
graduate gets *0!! to !!! a month. it is still the same now whereas the inflation rate
has increased tremendously. the logic is simple. u pay peanuts, u get mon,eys. and
here we have people saying fresh graduates should not be choosy and apply for any
position including Ipengawal ,eselamatan. yeah ill apply to be a security guard
when i graduate with a masters degree in chemical engineering this coming 8uly.
.eply
K*' (E1 on !'.*$.*! at ')' pm
>reat informative post than,s for sharingL..
.eply
K*3 0ane on !3.!".*! at *)5 am
Too true, my friend had a Master in a #cience =ngineering course 1forgot the full
title2, he obtained it overseas and when he got bac,, theres no 8ob opportunities for
him. 1His field is more research based and theres not much research centre in Msia2
-nyway, he was itching to be independent so he apply for a 8ob that is not related to
his studies at all. The first time he apply he was re8ected because he is
Dover;ualifiedE. The second time he didnt mention his Master and he got acceptedC
Tal, about ironyL