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.

Related link: » Calling all grads

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'The first thing I realised when I came out to work in the IT industry is that everything I knew was out of date.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.

Upgrade yourself

Facing the realities of a tough job market, where do you go to improve yourself?

The answer may lie in the numerous re-training programmes set up by the government to address the issue of providing fresh graduates with marketable skills.

Among the more ambitious projects is the Graduate Employability Management Scheme (GEMS), a continuation of the Graduate Employability Enhancement Programme (GREEN), implemented by Khazanah Nasional in 2006.

Citing a success rate of 97%, the programme plans to train 12,000 graduates over a two-year period, aiming for 5,000 graduates for this year alone.

Starting with a two-and-a-half month training in soft skills, trainees will then be placed in government-linked companies for six months in order to gain real world exposure.

The syllabus is structured around feedback from corporate employers regarding what they see lacking in young graduates - namely communication skills and drive.

It would seem that these are common complaints regardless of the industry.

According to the Multimedia Development Coorporation (MDEC), its surveys in the IT industry found that employers do not hire graduates because they have poor command of the English language, they lack general knowledge, have poor problem-solving skills and they applied for jobs that are not relevant to their experience.

'This is why we started the MSC Malaysia Job Camp (JC),' says MDEC k-workers development department's general manager Muhammad Imran Kunalan Abdullah.

'The programme aims to address the skills gap in the IT industry by equipping unemployed graduates with both technical and soft skills.'

Running into its fourth year, the JC programme looks to train 2,000 unemployed graduates in 2009 and is open to both ICT and non-ICT graduates who are interested to pursue a career in the ICT industry.

IBM Malaysia human resources director Kenneth Ho believes that internships may provide more benefits than retraining programmes.

'Retraining programs are a great way for graduates to skill-up - but may not necessarily provide fresh graduates with the necessary exposure and actual working experience that most companies look for,' says Ho.

'Internships allow companies to assess the interning graduates, and offer them jobs immediately after the stint ends, if deemed worthy - a win-win situation for both the interns and the hiring companies.'

Just do it

So you don't have a job. Why not create your own?

'There are less jobs available, so people need to be more adventurous and start something,' says Wee Hui Bieh, managing director of Wencom Career Consultancy.

'Maybe graduates can run English courses, since there is a need for it. Or you can produce something to help people save costs, like food catering. And since people are health conscious these days, science graduates can come up with a new health product made from our country's natural resources.'

The possibilities are endless, and Wee says that government grants and even research and development facilities at SIRIM are available to those who have creative business ideas.

She adds that Wencom helps graduates apply for these grants, and they may learn the processes at Wencom's Technopreneur Development Seminar and Study Tour.

If being an entrepreneur is too daunting, the general advice is to take any job and make the most of it.

'If graduates come to me and say they've stayed at home for one year, 'balik kampung' and helped around the house, I will never hire them'no second chance!' says Tan.

'It would have been better if they work in, for example, McDonalds. If they're efficient, they will move up the ranks in no time and even become managers.'

Deloitte Malaysia's human resource director Y.Y. Lam says he has worked in the human resource department all his life and reveals that companies look for a learning attitude.

He has seen the resumes of people who, although qualified, have previously worked as cashiers or waiters and perceives them as go-getters.

'It is no shame to put those in your curriculum vitae,' he reckons.

'We would be looking at how people took up opportunities and responded to challenges. It's not so much about whether they worked in the right job, but the attitude and potential of a person.'

Tan admits that perhaps graduates with middle or high-income parents may not be willing to see their children work in blue-collared jobs.

He suggests taking time off to travel, 'see the world' and gain new experiences.

'Bring along your laptop and camera,' he advises, adding that the international exposure could be invaluable in the workplace later.

'For example, engineering and architectural graduates would see different countries' infrastructure and get more ideas.'

If you're an accounting graduate, Tan suggests completing a professional qualification like ACCA or pursue a related second degree like IT or Law because companies need specialised accountants.

'In two or three years when the recession is over, these graduates will find themselves ahead of others when applying for jobs,' he reveals.

Another noble and viable option for unemployed graduates is volunteering with non-profit organisations.

Yayasan Salam (Salam) chief operating officer Md Ghani Ibrahim says the organisation is constantly on the lookout for full-time and part-time volunteers for projects.

'We have various projects to do with children, women, usage of ICT, community development and disaster relief,' he says.

Currently, Salam is involved in supplying electricity and water to Orang Asli villages, conducting roadshows and running motivational talks in schools around the country, for which they require help.

'We do have quite a few fresh graduates volunteering with us,' Md Ghani reveals, adding that they receive travel, food and living allowances.

So not only can you do your bit to save the world, Md Ghani says volunteers would also engage in project proposals, project development and monitor activities as well as gain hands-on experience.

'I've seen youth who have joined us being shy and introverted at first, but now, they can do public speaking, talk to government officials and conduct presentations,' he adds.

Now, all those would look great on your resume, won't they?