As a fresh graduate, one of your worst fears would be being jobless for a long period of time as you are unable to find any suitable jobs. While there have been critics who said that graduates were just being too picky, Dr Abdul Rahman Deen, who is the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Research Sarawak gave another reason for this.
He said that over 50,000 fresh graduates from colleges and universities in Sarawak were unable to find any jobs after they graduated because the degrees or diplomas they hold were not in demand in the job market.
According to Oriental Daily, Dr Abdul Rahman explained, “These graduates may have chosen a course that has less demand in the local job market, which makes it difficult for them to find a job they are interested in even with a degree.” In order to overcome this issue, he hopes that the government will develop effective plans for future fresh graduates so that they can meet the current job market’s needs and are able to be gainfully employed.
“We hope that there will be new plans so that graduates won’t have problems finding jobs because their degrees are not widely sought after in the market. However, students should also broaden their minds and consider pursuing careers other than engineers or doctors as there will be demand for other careers in the future,” he said.
He said that many people still think that going for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is considered inferior but actually, over 90 per cent of students who graduated from this programme are able to find jobs in less than six months. Wah, not bad wei! Dr Abdul Rahman pointed out that by studying under this programme, TVET graduates find it easier to own their businesses next time as they already have the practical knowledge in fields such as information technology, vehicle maintenance and many more.
On top of this, he added that students should not be influenced by their friends or parents to choose their courses but instead, they should think properly about the course they’re interested in and seek help from teachers to get the information they need.
Good luck, students! Remember to choose wisely!
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