What You Need To Know About The Current Job Market If You

by StudyMalaysia on October 28, 2017 | Top Stories

Are you currently studying at college or university? Perhaps you’re getting ready to pursue your higher education. Stop and read this cos here’s what you need to know about the current job market.

In a meeting between the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and chief executives of private higher education institutions in Malaysia on 1 August 2016, several topics on higher education were presented and discussed.

Did you know that Malaysia has 495 private higher education institutions in Malaysia? And that there are 10 foreign university branch campuses in the country? Find out all about the latest higher education developments in 'A glance at higher education in Malaysia 2016'.

If you’re trying to decide on which career to pursue, perhaps knowing what the most sought-after occupations by industry in Malaysia might help you in your choice. Here’s a look at the 42 most in-demand jobs in Malaysia 2015/2016.

In addition, MOHE has identified three specialisations with the highest demand for fresh graduates when compared to the number of jobs available in each specialisation. These are Administration & HR (16%); Services (15%); and Sales & Marketing (12%). (Note: The statistics presented by MOHE was obtained from Jobstreet.com.)

Number of fresh graduate jobs against top 10 specialization

And if that hasn’t got you convinced, how about knowing which jobs pay the highest? The top three fields with the highest average salary for fresh graduates are Computer & IT, Building & Construction, and Engineering.

Specialization	Average Salary
Computer / IT	MYR 2,795
Building / Construction	MYR 2,616
Engineering	MYR 2,501
Sales / Marketing	MYR 2,458
Arts / Media / Communications	MYR 2,297
Accounting / Finance	MYR 2,230
Healthcare	MYR 2,219
Services	MYR 2,197
Sciences	MYR 2,162
Education	MYR 2,101
Manufacturing/Production Operations	MYR 2,008
Admin / HR	MYR 1,888
Hotel / Restaurant	MYR 1,820

Source: Jobstreet.com statistics

Once you’ve decided on a career and your higher education pathway, it’s good to work on making sure you’ve got what employers want (or don’t!)

According to a survey by Jobstreet.com, these are the factors that give fresh graduates an extra advantage:

experience holding a leadership position at their universities
high academic scores
involvement in extracurricular activities
participation in volunteer work

Lastly, make sure you don’t fall into any of these traps that may decrease your chances of gaining employment. In the same Jobstreet.com survey, these were the top reasons why graduates don’t get hired:

unrealistic expectations of salaries and benefits
poor command of English
too choosy about the job or company
poor communication skills
demonstrating poor character during the interview

Feeling lost about your higher education options? Here’s a guide to:
What to do after getting your SPM or STPM results.

Fresh Graduate Unemployed

Sources for this article include:

Jobstreet.com, ‘Employers: Fresh Graduates Have Unrealistic Expectations’
Ministry of Higher Education, ‘Designing the best education Malaysian deserve’ at Majlis Perjumpaan YB Menteri Pendidikan Tinggi Bersama Ketua-Ketua Eksekutif IPTS – 1 Ogos 2016