Isnin, Mac 05, 2012

LOCAL GRADUATES FALL SHORT OF EMPLOYERS’ EXPECTATIONS

Local graduates fall short of employers’ expectations

KUALA LUMPUR 5th March, 2012: Graduates emerging from the Malaysian education system are failing to meet the expectations of prospective employers due to a lack of critical thinking skills and poor communication.

This has resulted in employers having to provide additional training to fit them into their respective job scopes while many graduates have to accept employment that does not correspond with their qualifications.

Malaysian-based education, human resource and recruitment consultants feel there is a need for a sound foundation in critical thinking to be incorporated into the education system to prepare future generations for the employment market.

Manpower Staffing Services (M) Sdn Bhd country manager Sam Haggag said there is a distinct gap between what the Malaysian education system is producing and what employers are looking for.

“This has resulted in six out of 10 graduates from Malaysian universities taking as much as six months to find a job. The other 40 per cent take even longer,” said Haggag, whose company provides workforce solutions that include recruitment and training.

“Recruitment is a distinct challenge as the universities are churning out graduates who don’t have the requisite skills to enter the workforce.

“From the manpower context, we find that seven out of 10 graduates who come to recruitment interviews fail the English [language] competency test set by our clients.

“The lack of proficiency in English limits their ability to communicate beyond the borders of Malaysia and this lowers their confidence and curtails their ability to add value in the workplace,” he said in a statement.

Hong Leong Bank chief human resources Officer Ramon Chelvarajasingam said many of the new graduates emerging from the Malaysian education system lack the critical thinking skills required to keep up in a world that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly competitive.

“New technologies and methodologies are forcing people to operate beyond their comfort zone. In our competitor nations, the young professionals are more advanced in critical thinking, innovation, thinking out of the box and have continuous development initiatives compared to within Malaysia,” he pointed out.

He added that today, most employers are looking for graduates with a high level of confidence who are exposed to niche areas outside of their academic studies.

“These new graduates won’t give you textbook answers, but will, through their answers, display a global mindset and show understanding of moving trends in the world. Employers are usually prepared to pay a higher salary to get these ‘global associates’ onboard,” Ramon said.

Prospect Consulting Sdn Bhd director Nina Adlan, who provides advisory services to educational institutions aiming to set up branch campuses in Malaysia, said she has observed ‘a disconnect’ between what graduates put down on their curriculum vitae and what they are like in reality.

“When we hire, we consider the way graduates converse and portray themselves to be more important than what’s in the CV. What’s the point in having good academic results when they can’t communicate can’t conduct a proper conversation and have no confidence? she said.

Haggag said one reason for the lack of confidence evident in young graduates is that educational institutions are not placing enough focus on equipping undergraduates with skills that will enable them to think out of the box and adapt to the demands of the working world.

Among the reasons why those emerging from local education system do not meet employers’ standards is the system itself. It is not dissimilar from that of the UK, which is teacher-centric and focuses on rote learning and swotting and places less emphasis on practical application. The system also focuses on individual achievement and less on team performance, so there aren’t many opportunities for students to acquire interactive skills.

“It’s the same in Malaysia, where the system is biased towards those who do well in exams, which is not necessarily the best way to gauge their employability,” he added.

Ramon said education institutions need to create a ‘learning environment’ that combines an experiential approach and exposure to knowledge that extends beyond the scope of academic theory.

“Textbook stuff doesn’t help them face the challenges of businesses that are constantly evolving. They need to be exposed to changing trends and behaviours, and to be taught skills like creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and adaptability.

“They also need to be taught how to be globally aware, which is how to link what they learn to what is happening around the world,” he said.

Nina said if Malaysia is to produce more employable graduates with creative and problem-solving skills, all parties involved in education should work together to create a culture that places a high value on critical thinking and creativity to replace the current one which focuses on information transfer and academic results.

She pointed out that graduates who attend interviews more often than not are asked questions which require them to “think out of the box” which requires critical thinking ability.

An Internet check on the most frequently asked interview questions provides an insight into the “real world” out there. With questions such as:

  • What do you look for in a job?
  • Why should we hire you?
  • Define success at work?
  • How do you feel that your education has prepared you for this job? to Why is a manhole cover round?

Nina said the grounding, for the future generation to handle these and other questions and to be in a position to handle work situations without having to literally flip through a manual (if there is one), is to lay a strong foundation at the school level for them to be able to come up with strategies and solutions that can be unique and appropriate for each situation.

This, she insisted, would help pave the way to achieve Malaysia’s quest to become a developed nation with the necessary manpower that would meet the industries’ and the country’s requirements.

38 ulasan:

  1. Students must learn about the necessary skills that is needed when they step into the work force so that they can fit right into the job without having to waste time undergoing training.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Belia harus berusaha untuk membaiki akademi untuk berkelayakan menceburi bidang yang diinginkan.

      Padam
    2. pelajar harus melengkapkan diri dengan pengetahuan dan kemahiran agar berjaya mendapatkan pekerjaan.

      Padam
  2. Unfortunately many of our students are used to the spoon-fed method of learning and therefore critical thinking abilities are neglected. It is time to rebuild their skills in this.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Kemahiran yang tertentu diperlukan bila bekerja nanti, jangan hanya fokus dalam pembelajaran sahaja.

      Padam
  3. kalau setakat ilmu teori yang dipelajari, memang tidak akan mencukupi dan memenuhi keperluan bila pelajar memasuki alam pekerjaan nanti.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Mestilah ada pengetahuan yang sewajarnya yang membolehkan seorang pelajar menyesuaikan diri semasa bekerja nanti.

      Padam
    2. Pengalaman mengambil masa untuk mengumpul.

      Padam
    3. setuju..ilmu teori memang tidak mencukupi..kemahiran insaniah juga perlu ada.

      Padam
  4. para pelajar perlu mempersiapkan diri dengan pelbagai kemahiran bagi mendapatkan pekerjaan. dengan ini masalah pengangguran juga pasti akan dapat dielakkan.

    BalasPadam
  5. Para pelajar perlu ada skills yang cukup dan bersedia menghadapi sebarang cabaran.

    BalasPadam
  6. English is important.Brush up your English.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. English is definitely very important in the workforce, proficiency in English will give a employee more advantages.

      Padam
  7. Masalah utama graduan tempatan adalah terlalu memilih kerja.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. They expect too high from the market where the market are very competitive.

      Padam
    2. sikap terlalu memilih kerja harus dikikis oleh setiap graduan.

      Padam
  8. I hope those graduates are managed to get jobs before it's too late.

    BalasPadam
  9. bagi memenuhi keperluan pekerjaan, pelajar kena mempersiapkn diri dgn pelbagai kemahiran.

    BalasPadam
  10. Pendedahan lebih dalam pencari pekerjaan perlu diberikan kepada lepasan-lepasan pendidikan tempatan.

    BalasPadam
  11. This issue is not new and is a common in malaysia. This is due to the way we are brought up from childhood, primary, secondary and university level. We are always told that senior and old people are always right. Just listen and don't ask this or that.

    But when western industry opened their business here, they are expecting western thinking from their staff. the staff should give creative idea and alternative solutions. But most malaysian are trained to give one exact solution or answer (exam based oriented).

    In Malaysia, we have both western and eastern thinking within the same organization. Maybe industry CEO should use their critical thinking on how to quickly change malaysian graduate thinking once hired. so, please don't blame malaysian education system. So, this is another output of Malaysia Boleh!

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. I totally disagree with this line of argument being presented by TANPA NAMA, I am compelled to give my thoughts regarding the subject of "critical thinking".

      In the perception of the common masses, when we say 'critical', it is always being associated with a negative connotation as to criticize or to "disapprove" per say.

      In essence, "critical thinking" connotes the importance or centrality of the thinking to an issue, question or problem of concern.

      In other words it is the art of "thinking about thinking". It is a process of reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do.

      Among the benefits of this approach are it clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values, evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions, and assesses conclusions. These are all crucial elements of are deemed necessary by many employers as well as other multinational organization.

      Coming back to our education system, to say that it is flawed is an all out exaggeration. Our education system is modeled out from an existing system that emulates from the model that is being used in Great Britain.

      I believe the politically correct term which best describe our system is 'there are still room for improvements". For the past few decade emphasis on EXCELLENCE has been the corner stone of our education system from all strata of the system: from primary school level all the way to the tertiary level.

      Currently there is a break from this pattern. The message of 'diversifying skills' and 'critical thinking' has been the mantra in both the Education Ministry as well as the Higher Education Ministry.

      End of the day it it all boils down to the individual themselves. How they want to further 'enhance' themselves in order to be more 'marketable' in the job market.

      Padam
  12. All students should be encouraged to study very hard.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Study hard? With book? We can't expect everyone to do whatever the book tell us to do.

      Padam
  13. Communicational skills are very important, thus student are supposed to improve in their relational skills and learning processes.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. It's not easy to learn how to communicate socially, everyone's different. This takes time.

      Padam
  14. Critical thinking abilities can be improved by employing more psychological learning methodology.

    BalasPadam
  15. Schools are equally responsible for the student’s ability to learn, while the students owing it to their respective schools in return.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Not everyone can learn and reach the same way the other does, i don't agree with you. Everyone's different.

      Padam
  16. Students should prepare themselves with various skills to match job descriptions during employment.

    BalasPadam
  17. I agree with this, textbook won't tell you whatever there is outside that world. It depends mostly on how you communicate to people.

    BalasPadam
  18. Even a person without a SPM cert can be a Millionaire. Not necessary depends on education honestly. You can survive if you can flow through the society without any problem.

    BalasPadam
  19. Belia harus membaiki skill and pengetahuan untuk bersaing dengan orang lain.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. ilmu dan kemahiran memang penting untuk membolehkan graduan mendapat pekerjaan.

      Padam
  20. Think smart and work smart. Get yourself ready for any challenge in forthcoming, everyone has equivalent chances.

    BalasPadam
  21. tingkatkan usaha dan pengetahuan agar mampu untuk bersaing mendapatkan pekerjaan.

    BalasPadam
  22. Malaysia should learn more from advance countries how they manage their education system..

    BalasPadam
  23. You studied, you passed the exam, you forgot what have you studied. This is common thing to happen in M'sia.

    BalasPadam
  24. The real world is very tough and competitive. You yourself need to be prepared in order to get compete. Get out from the comfort zones.

    BalasPadam