• Five-year plan targets to improve employment with 75% of graduates securing jobs after graduation
• Unemployment in Malaysia is seen as seasonal and manageable

The Higher Education Ministry launched the Graduate Employability Blueprint 2012-2017 today with the aim of ensuring graduate employability.

Image via Buddy Loans

One of the efforts by the ministry under the Blueprint is the Industry Centre of Excellence (ICoE) programme where anchor companies are connected with lead universities that provide human capital. According to Md Hatta Md Jauhar, senior assistant director of the Labour Department and head of the career guidance unit JobsMalaysia, the number of unemployed graduates is not necessarily that high and is a seasonal phenomenon as these graduates do not inform the department once they find work. "The ones who are still unemployed after six months are usually the low achievers, or those who are weak in English, lack communication skills and do not want to move some place else to work."He pointed out that the country's unemployment rate is in fact very low at 3%, with states like Malacca having a minimal 0.7% unemployment rate, so graduates should not have a problem finding jobs."With so many universities and graduates these days, there is competition. Employers are looking to employ the best, so undergraduates should learn to do more than one thing at a time. They need to enhance their communication and problem-solving skills. It is also important for them to increase their job search skills."