Are Malaysian Graduates Doomed To Mediocrity?
By
Dina Zaman Editor-at-Large
KUALA LUMPUR,
Nov 4 — Almost everyone complains about them: wanting high pay but not willing
to put in the hours. Hankering for instant fame but with little substance to
show. Becoming famous for very little talent. Demanding for work-life balance
just so they can party after 5pm, or be with their boy/girlfriend. And some
bring their parents into the picture; parents call up would be employers to
demand why their child’s demands are not being met. None of them want to work
in the trenches — life is too short to work hard. So now Putrajaya has stepped
in with funds to make the unemployable, well, employable.
Notwithstanding
that, some blame the current economic climate for their jobless state. They
aren’t shy about voicing their frustrations, and it must be serious, as the
Government has taken steps to provide skills and training, and a website
(http://www.mygemsportal.com.my/), so young graduates become employable.
The Prime
Minister launched the 1 Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M) sometime
in June 2011. The government schemes help young graduates gain soft skills and
internships with government linked companies. There are three components to the
scheme. The first part, costing up to RM200 million, will be put to conduct
part-time training in the evenings and weekends at selected training
centres.
The second is
another allocation of RM200 million for companies to provide training for their
employees. The fund will come from the Human Resource Development Fund. The
third scheme will see the Human Resource Ministry spend RM100 million to enable
employees skills in various technical skills.
A Bernama report in
June reported that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nor
Mohamed Yakcop said “… jobless graduates who had undergone SL1M had obtained
employment. “We are aggressive in this respect to help the 8,000 graduates who
have gone through SL1M,” he said.’”
What employers
think
There have been
criticisms on the initiative, but many forget that companies, multinationals
and even governments in other countries invest heavily in training and their
human resources. Youth unemployment is also a major concern in countries like
the United Kingdom. So why are Malaysian employers and professionals cynical
about the scheme and quality of graduates?
Surely it
cannot be because it is fashionable to detest everything that is
government-linked and look at graduates with disdain?
A senior Bumi
legal practitioner who declined to be named, echoes the many concerns of
employers. “I discern a trend whereby the local graduates are hesitant to speak
in the English language, and even if they do, they could be incomprehensible.
English is the lingua franca in Malaysia for commercial transactions. I see
this as a result of too much attention being paid to the Malay language in the
primary/secondary schools. “
“Secondly,
local graduates are so used to being spoon fed that they find it difficult to
do a bit of independent/creative thinking. For example, many newly minted
trainee lawyers want us (their seniors) to guide them every step of the way
while doing their legal research. This is because they are not trained to do
proper research in universities — everything is given to them by their
lecturers. In a commercial organisation, which a law firm is, the lack of these
basic (communication and research) skills will work against the trainees
because at the end of the day, we will only retain those that are perceived as
able to provide some value to the firm. I blame all these shortcomings on our
education system up to university level because since the foundation is not up
to universally acceptable standards, regardless of the thousands of so called
high achievers at SPM and any other examination levels, the structure, i.e. the
student will never be a strong/complete individual.”
A round of
interviews conducted via email and telephone calls revealed the same
response.
This begs the
question: will SL1M provide the solutions to the needs and demands of
employers? Apart from reports mentioned above that many job placements have
been found for the graduates, are they skilled and provide value to
employers?
In February,
The Guardian published
an opinion essay on how apprenticeships have failed Britain’s youth.
“The last
government devalued the word, but this government trashed it when it took
Labour’s Train to Gain scheme for older employees, cut the funds and rebadged
it as “apprenticeships”. That created an instant 257% increase in
“apprenticeships” as short courses for over-25s, most already working at Asda,
Morrisons or McDonald’s. Worthwhile maybe, but not “apprenticeships”, wasting
scarce state funds on company training.”
“… in the
last year “apprenticeships” for the over- 60s rose by 878%. Cuts in the training/apprenticeship
budget are disguised by plentiful announcements of little pots of money for
small new schemes: Cameron did it again this week with £6m for high-quality
apprenticeships. The worst scandal is that so many “apprenticeships” are
12-week courses from private training companies, with no jobs at the end. That
revelation forced the government to promise all future apprenticeships for 16
to 18 year-olds must last a year – but not for 19 to 24 year-olds.” Britain
outsources apprenticeships. “Elsewhere they are a bond between employers and
trainees,” said Polly Toynbee, the author of the op-ed.
Does this sound
similar? Perhaps, if we do not watch out, we will end up like Britain. While
the Malaysian scenario may be vastly different from Britain, if not managed
well, may end up as a “A culture that pays so many people so little for
essential work will never improve opportunities for those it undervalues from
birth.”
It’s not all
doom and gloom for apprenticeships. “In stark contrast, Germany’s youth
employment is the highest in Europe, with only a 7.8 percent jobless rate. At
the heart of that success is a learn-on-the-job apprenticeship system that has
its roots in the Middle Ages but is thriving today in Germany’s modern,
export-oriented economy,” NPR reported on Germany’s low youth unemployment
rate.
It continued,
“Germany’s dual system trains 1.5 million people annually. Across the board,
from bakers and car mechanics to carpenters and violin-makers, about 90 percent
of apprentices successfully complete their training, German government figures
show. The apprenticeships vary in length, between two and three-and-a-half
years. The average training “allowance” is €680 a month (approximately
RM2,659), and about half of the apprentices stay on in the company that trained
them.”
However, this
cooperation can only exist if companies and trade unions work together.
Malaysia’s trade unions are almost silent as they are restricted by the Trade
Unions Act.
