Life after graduation: Are you workforce ready?

After spending about 15 years studying, you are finally ready to enter the working world. Only for potential employers to tell you that you are not ready yet.
You are not alone. According to Dr Muhammed Abdul Khalid, a former director of research at Khazanah Research Institute, although Malaysia’s unemployment rate stands at 3.5%, about 34% of graduates are unemployed.

“It is indeed worrying that one in three graduates cannot find a job,” he said at the launch of the Millennial Development Programme.

However, it is not all gloom and doom though, as there are several ways to make yourself marketable to employers. Here’s some of them:

 

1. Take part in a leadership programme, such as the Millennial Development Programme (MDP)

The MDP is a realistic onboarding programme to develop resilient, consistent and collaborative leaders, yet provides them with a safety net to make mistakes, said Patricia Tan, co-founder of NexGen Impact (NGI).

NGI and GE have come together to present the MDP, a bespoke, intensive and experiential programme to develop leadership, entrepreneurial and professional skills of millennials. A total of 15 participants from six local universities have successfully applied for the programme, which will begin in December.

“MDP is a finishing school that helps graduates bridge the gap between the academic world and the industry. As a company, we want people that can fit in fairly quickly and easily,” said Vikram Cardozo, GE senior HR leader, GGO ASEAN.



2. Network with industry professionals

Cardozo added that tapping into the experience of industry veterans can help you get an idea of how to excel in the working world.

“When I was doing my MBA, I was coached by people from the industry. It was really exciting, vibrant and most importantly, real! That is the sort of experience we need to make our students relevant to our industry,” he said.



3. Think like a business owner

Zaky Moh, business development senior director at SME Corp, said some graduates are not keen to work for SMEs as they have resource limitations in sending their staff for training.

“While that is true, working in a SME provides a different experience altogether due to the smaller pool of resources. At SME Corp, our training is designed to provoke graduates to switch their mindset from job seekers to job creators,” he said.



4. Uptake vocational and technical skills

Tengku Azian, education and human capital development director at PEMANDU, said the country’s educational system had been too fixated on academic excellence.

“Without doubt, there is a mismatch in graduates’ skillsets with industry requirements. Having vocational and technical skills may help. We are also looking at encouraging more training institutions to have strong linkups with the industry,” she said.

The need to upskill and adding additional skillsets to your portfolio of talent does not end after you get hired. In fact, that is when you get a chance to shine.

“A diamond is a piece of coal that needs to be pressured and polished. At GE, we signed about USD1 billion developing people globally. The quality of the people and the mindset differentiates one company from another,” said Cardozo.