PETALING JAYA: While Malaysia’s labour market is projected to stay steady in 2024, considerations persist over the high youth unemployment charge, which has remained at 10.6% for the fourth consecutive month in February, affecting over 306,600 individuals.
For these within the 15-24 years age group, the failure to land jobs is primarily because of a abilities mismatch, mentioned an economist and a HR guide.
Yeah Kim Leng, economics professor at Sunway Business School, mentioned a major issue contributing to the issue is the mismatch between abilities demanded by industries and people imparted by native universities.
He attributed the high unemployment charge amongst youth within the nation to each “demand- and supply-side components”.
“Elevated youth unemployment means that the nation’s human sources should not being absolutely utilised,” Yeah informed eNM Business.
He mentioned sturdy competitors amongst job-seekers imply the restricted vacancies in fields corresponding to engineering, science, accounting and monetary evaluation are typically stuffed by graduates from top-tier native and international universities.
In distinction, Yeah mentioned labour intensive sectors corresponding to meals farming, agriculture, fisheries, building and low-end manufacturing, which supply quite a few employment alternatives, are predominantly stuffed by imported labour.
This is as a result of reluctance of native youths to take such jobs due to low pay and demanding working circumstances, he mentioned.
To deal with the mismatch within the labour market, Yeah proposed the introduction of extra upskilling and skills-matching schemes for teens by way of public-private partnership programmes.
“The success of youths in getting into the workforce and discovering employment with respectable wages and people with an entrepreneurial spirit will contribute to a extra dynamic financial system, and a affluent society,” he mentioned.
University programs outdated?
Meanwhile HR guide Srithren Krishnan pointed to an enormous mismatch between what younger individuals study and what fashionable jobs require.
“Maybe the themes taught within the universities are outdated as expertise is altering at a quick tempo,” he informed eNM Business.
He mentioned the federal government ought to mandate year-long internships for undergraduates to make sure that they meet business requirements,.
“Additionally, industries ought to come ahead to collaborate and set up labs in universities to provide collectively researched merchandise that emphasise high-technology purposes.”
Srithren additionally urged the federal government disallow labour-oriented industries from working, and emphasise AI (synthetic intelligence)-driven work processes as an alternative.
A current report by the Institute for Strategic Analysis and Policy Research mentioned Malaysia, like different South East Asian and Pacific nations, is wrestling with youth unemployment.
The examine mentioned youth unemployment in Malaysia is “a posh concern”, influenced by components such because the neglected city youth segments, combination demand and a structural mismatch within the labour market.
Kenanga Investment Bank has projected that Malaysia’s labour market will stay steady in 2024, with the common unemployment charge at 3.2%, in line with the 2023 charge of three.4%.
