Is your university capable enough to enable you to get a job once you graduate? Well, there will be a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) to figure that out.
In fact, graduate employability has been included as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for all vice-chancellors of public universities.
The Star newspaper quoted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as saying that the move was part of the long-term goal to raise the quality and marketability of local graduates.
“Others include introducing entrepreneurship curriculum, implementing soft skills programmes and student internship programmes in public and private corporations before the students graduate.
“Continuous dialogue between the universities and industry is being held to raise the quality of the graduates, an approach which is expected to reduce the mismatch between supply and demand for skilled manpower,” he said when launching the 1Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M).
Najib said the Government was also implementing special programmes as a short-term measure to raise graduate employability and that included the training programmes carried out by the Higher Education Ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Khazanah and the Skills Development Fund Corporation involving 12,000 graduates.
He said this meant that out of the 20,000 unemployed graduates, 8,000 did not have the opportunity to undergo additional training to improve their marketability.
“Some of them come from the rural and interior areas as well as from low-income families.
“This background influences their character and self-confidence and affects their ability to secure employment
“Thus, by carrying out a last mile intervention in the form of finishing schools, I believe they will become more confident, and they are the target group of the SL1M,” he said, adding that the initiative was also for those who failed to be employed six months after graduating.
We need skilled workers and soon, according to the Human Resources Ministry. Bernama agency recently quoted its minister Datuk. Dr. S. Subramaniam as saying that.
We need skilled workers to compete with high-income Asian nations like Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore.
He said since about 3.3 million new jobs would be created under the Economic Transformation Programme (of which 60% would be in the high-skill category), there was an urgent need for skilled workers.
"Unfortunately, of the 9.8 million total workforce in the country, only 28% are employed in high-skilled jobs. Achieving the status of a developed nation requires the support of highly skilled and a competent workforce," he was quoted as saying in that report.
Dr Subramaniam said as an incentive for employers to send their employees for training under the 1Malaysia Training programme, the Government would reimburse 20% of the course fee into employers' levy accounts after completion of their training.
He said the Government had allocated RM500mil for upgrading skills of workers under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015).
On the same note, he said the National Minimum Wage Consultative Council Act would be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.
The council would be able to coordinate the salary of workers in the private sector once the Act comes into force.
International Labour Organization prepared a report on gender equality in Asia
Asian countries have a window of opportunity to tackle gender inequality in their labour markets and support sustainable crisis recovery, according to a new report prepared jointly by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The report, Women and Labour Markets in Asia: Rebalancing for Gender Equality, says that although Asia is helping to lead the global economy, recovery of the labour market from the recent global economic and financial crisis has not kept pace. In some developing countries, particularly in East Asia, job growth is back, but the quality of jobs being created is a major concern. In particular, 45 per cent of the vast productive potential of Asian women remains untapped, compared to just 19 per cent for Asian men.
Even before the crisis, Asia was estimated to be losing US$42-$47 billion a year because of limits on women’s access to employment opportunities and another US$16-$30 billion a year as a result of gender gaps in education, according to estimates by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Although the region’s economic growth of 6.2 per cent in 2000-2007 greatly exceeded the global average of 4.2 per cent, average growth in women’s employment was just 1.7 per cent- below the world average of 2 per cent.
These deficits are likely to have increased during the crisis, the report says, because women disproportionately shouldered the impact due to pre-existing gender inequalities. They include discrimination throughout the region’s labour markets, inequality rooted in social-cultural norms and national policy and institutional frameworks that shape the employment opportunities of Asia’s 734 million female workers.
The report says that “there is now a window of opportunity to address systematic gender inequalities as well as the symptoms thrown up by the crisis, and achieve full labour market recovery and successful rebalancing.” It adds that “the policy goal should not be to return to the ‘normal’ pre-crisis situation…but to re-balance towards a new development trajectory that is job-rich, just, sustainable and inclusive”.
“Asia faces both old and new challenges and it needs to address both if it is to reap the social and economic benefits of gender equality,” said Sachiko Yamamoto, ILO Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “The drive to rebalance towards more sustainable, fairer development must not distract policy-makers from dealing with ingrained gender inequalities. One cannot succeed without the other and the social and economic costs of missing this opportunity will be felt for decades. The ILO stands ready to help with this, an important step towards the goal of decent work for all”.
The report points out that poor quality jobs are a greater labour market challenge for women than unemployment. A large proportion of women in Asia toils in low-productivity, vulnerable and low-paid informal work. In addition, female youth unemployment is high and women remain largely perceived as a buffer workforce or secondary earners next to men.
Suggested policies include support for women entrepreneurs; assisting women working in agriculture to boost productivity; reducing Asia’s over-reliance on the informal sector; promoting equal access to quality education and training; gender-responsive social protection; ensuring equality in representation and decision-making; and following a rights-based approach.
Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, ADB’s Vice President of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, said that “ADB is firmly committed to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment through our operations. We believe that ADB has a responsibility to set a positive example for the region in tackling gender inequality. This timely report sheds further light on the negative impacts of gender discrimination in the labour force, and provides a new chance for governments and societies to increase quality employment options for women”.
The report is a joint undertaking by the ADB and the ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, reflecting the high-level commitment of both organizations to gender equality as an economic and social investment that will generate enormous dividends for sustainable development in the region.
The ILO is the UN specialized agency concerned with work and workplace issues and related rights and standards. Its overarching goal is to achieve decent work for all so everyone benefits from working conditions that offer freedom, equity, security and human dignity. It has 33 member states in Asia Pacific and more than 180 worldwide.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2010, ADB approvals, including co-financing, totaled $17.51 billion. In addition, ADB's ongoing Trade Finance Program supported $2.8 billion in trade.
Keep an eye on the job portals, with seven new projects announced by the government, we can expect 74,000 new jobs.
The Star newspaper reported that Malaysia has attracted RM11.16bil in investments from seven new and five existing projects under the country's Economic Transformation Programme.
The report noted that in announcing the new projects, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was expected to generate 74,457 jobs and RM16.62bil in gross national income.
The entire programme has so far garnered RM106.40bil in investments, RM153.83bil in gross national income and created 300,000 new jobs.
Najib was also quoted as saying said all Malaysians aged 18 years and above would be given an official e-mail account for “direct and secure” communication with the Government, allowing them to receive bills, notices and statements.
Promise of job in foreign countries, especially alluring ones like Australia, may be very enticing, but beware, it could be a scam.
A report in The Star newspaper reported how a 26 year old man from Batu Gajah was cheated of his money for a promise of RM 9,000 monthly job in Australia.
The man, who only wanted to be known as Heng, said he was introduced to two women who promised him a job as a sheep wool collector in Australia last month.
“One of the them, known as Ann, told me that I only had to pay RM1,650 as deposit for the airfare and they would find me a job there,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
“As they were introduced to me by a friend, I trusted them and paid the money,” he told reporters after lodging a police report on Sunday.
Heng said that Ann later confirmed his flight on April 30.
However, she subsequently informed Heng that his flight had been postponed to another date and he was told to wait.
Heng, a renovation worker, said he was later contacted by Ann, saying that the deal was off and his money would be refunded.
“I tried calling her again to enquire when I could get back my money but the calls went unanswered,” he said.
Heng was among six people, accompanied by Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan, who lodged a report.
Fong said she believed there could be more people who had fallen victim to the two women.
“I was told that 13 others had lodged similar reports earlier this month,” she said, adding that the two women had swindled about RM25,350 from the 19 victims.
“Most of them were promised jobs to work in factories, orchards and farms in Australia.”
