You know, we have been told so many times by our Ministers, either in Parliament or in media reports, that there are about 60,000 unemployed graduates in the country.
We are also told that 70% of these unemployed graaduates are from the public universities, 26% are from private colleges and universities and the remaining 4% from foreign universities.
I’ll tell you why these figures are causes of concern. First, 60,000 is a big number. It does not seem to be coming down. Secondly, the percentage of unemployed graduates from our public universities is way too high. Why is this so?
Why is there such a big difference in the unemployment figures from the public and private institutions of higher learning? Are the public universities doing the right thing to ensure that their courses are in tune with the present needs of industries? Are out-moded courses still being offered? Are the universities doing anything to counsel their students properly on their career paths? Are they competent enough to offer counselling services?
These are already a lot of questions. And there are many more.
To me, I see a lot of opportunities for the government and the public universities to equip our graduates with employment skills. But … not enough is being done. The authorities and public universities are being slow to react or the message is not getting through to them fast enough.
Recently, I was at a career function organised by a local university that had invited JobStreet.com to present some talks to their final year students and graduands.
The talks stretched from morning to the afternoon and four topics ranging from personal grooming to employer expectations to job interviews to resume writing were covered.
Response was actually very good in the morning but the number of participants dwindled by half after lunch.
This set me thinking. Are our university students – especially those in their final year – mature enough to handle themselves? Do they realise that these career talks are all for their benefit? Don’t they want to know how to apply for a job? Aren’t they interested to know what is expected of them when they walk through the door for an interview? How to carry themselves professionally?
Do they think that jobs will be delivered to them on a platter at any time they want? Do they think that it is easy to find jobs in the first place? These are the people who will be terribly disappointed. Welcome to the real world!
In my time, I learnt to look for my first job the hard way. There was absolutely no one to coach my friends and I. Now, there are companies like JobStreet.com who are ever willing to share real-life information with university and college students about their career expectations.
Of course, many will say that the reason why JobStreet.com is doing all these talks is because the company wants to sign up more members. We do not deny this. Our strength is in our database of employable job seekers.
But we are always serious enough to advise these job seekers that you must be equally committed towards determining your career path and knowing how to focus yourselves towards your goals. Ultimately, it is their future, not ours.
Rome was not built in a day. Similarly, the job search process cannot be completed in a single day. Don’t delude yourself. The sooner university students realise this, the easier it will be for them to smoothen the obstacles and challenges in their lives and careers, and become contributing members to the workforce.
About the writer
Quah Seng-Sun is Malaysia’s only Certified Professional Resume Writer and a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches (PARW/CC) which is based in the United States. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of JobStreet.com
SS
Very inspiring thoughts. Straight to the dot. Somehow, this is a good assessment of things. If the organizers for the event do not put emphasis on how important the talks were, do you really think the students would be doing the same? I doubt it. This “tidak apa” attitude must be stemed at its roots. Somehow, sometimes it is sad to see how lackluster fresh grads have become. I still remember my first very job. RUnning around KL with a briefcase full of brochures about medical products. No one to guide me but had one thing in mind. Making a difference and pray to god for good things ahead. Years later, I see so many graduates not wanting to do sales. In fact, at times like this, I see “pushbacks” as opportunities. Unemployed grads must grab that opportunity. Don’t be choosy.
things are different since the last time i’ve been here, nice work. i’ll have to stop by more often.