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By SARAH CHEW and PRIYA KULASAGARAN
Graduates are being produced by the hundreds of thousands every year and the sad news is that only slightly over half could find a job within months.
So if you think finding a job is going to be a walk in the park because you have a degree, maybe you need a friendly slap of reality. A degree is no longer the passport to gainful employment. null
In 2008, our local universities churned out 175,806 graduates and this year, the number may increase.
In a study made by Higher Education Ministry on a sample of these graduates last year, only 55.1% landed themselves with a job within half a year.
However, RAM Holdings Bhd chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng thinks that the situation is not as bleak as it has been projected.
He notes that although the overall employment market will be affected by the economic slowdown, only export-driven industries are the hardest hit.
'Malaysia is actually facing a skills shortage in a lot of sectors such as information technology and biotechnology,' says Dr Yeah, adding that local talents are lured overseas due to higher pay packets.
What fresh grads may have working against them is their lack of experience and some may require, as Dr Yeoh delicately puts in, an 'adjustment of attitude'.
Doom and gloom?
With all the talk about unemployed grads, one may wonder whether there are less jobs, or less jobs graduates want or are graduates simply not up to par.
'It's all of the above,' says Deloitte Malaysia country managing partner Tan Theng Hooi.
'There are less jobs for sure, but graduates are also quite choosy. And parents have a big say because they have savings, especially the middle class, so their children don't really have to slog it out.'
Take Nik Azwan, 25, for example. With a firm grasp of English and Malay, he does not appear like the kind of person who would have problems securing work.
'I was working in sales because I found that I was earning much more than my previous stint as a code writer. I also enjoy talking and dealing with people.
'The problem was that my mother was unhappy with my career choice, as she felt that with a degree, I could get a better job. Anyone can do sales, she said. I think it's a pride issue,' he says.
Nik thinks he did not have adequate training in the university.
'The first thing I realised when I came out to work in the IT industry is that everything I knew was out of date.
'I feel frustrated because it seems that I spent all those years in university for naught,' he laments.
Tan adds that the quality of graduates 'could be better', as some cannot even write two English sentences without errors.
For Deloitte, the credit crunch has translated to less resignations and vacancies and more graduates applying to join them'meaning increased competition and they can afford to hire specialists instead.
Deloitte is now opening their internship programme in June to unemployed graduates, who will also undergo training in basic skills like taxation, auditing and accounting standards.
Malaysian Association of Hotels vice-president Ivo R. Nekvapil, having worked 55 years in the hotel and hospitality industry, bemoans the trend he sees in graduates who are not willing to work hard even though the industry is 'tremendously resilient and has plenty of jobs'.
'There is a sad attitude that views the hospitality line as too hard and the working hours are too long to make a life,' he says.
'Some parents think serving is too demeaning,' he added.
But the good news is that there are job openings at every level from waiters and executives to managers, which fresh graduates can take their pick.
'Graduates can work in front desk, food and beverage, housekeeping and so much more. They can be assistant managers, restaurant managers and sales executives,' he says.
But he is quick to add that graduates shouldn't expect to become a General Manager overnight. They first need to work hard and prove themselves'putting in six days of work a week and 12 hours a day.
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