KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- JobStreet.com's latest survey revealed an overall improvement in employers' perception towards the standards of fresh graduates in 2018 as compared to 2017.
When asked about the standards of fresh graduates in the job marketplace:
The survey also revealed a long-standing gap between fresh graduates' asking salaries and salaries that employers were willing to offer. Based on the survey, 32% of fresh graduates had asked for a starting salary of RM3,000 and above, but only 9% of employers were willing to make offers to meet those demands. This was reflected in the top 5 reasons for unemployment as employers cited fresh graduates were asking for unrealistic salary/benefits, being choosy about the job or company, poor character, attitude or personality, poor command of the English language, and poor communication skills.
These findings were shared by Chook Yuh Yng, Country Manager of JobStreet.com Malaysia, in conjunction the launch of the Graduate Employability Program between JobStreet.com Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Chook Yuh Yng, Country Manager of JobStreet.com Malaysia, congratulated Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at the event for its efforts in empowering students to build bridges for their future careers as well as preparing them to enter the workforce. "JobStreet.com is proud to have USM as its Graduate Employability Program partner, helping to prepare graduates for their first job in the marketplace," she added.
Commenting on the standards of fresh graduates, Professor Datuk Dr. Asma Ismail, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said, "According to the Ministry of Higher Education's (MOHE) Graduate Employability Tracer Study, Universiti Sains Malaysia showed an increasing trend in terms of graduate employability (GE). MOHE's Graduate Employability Tracer Study in 2017 revealed that Universiti Sains Malaysia had a GE rate of nearly 80% at the time of convocation. Leveraging on the H.E.B.A.T (Holistic, Entrepreneurial, Balanced, Articulate and Thinking) graduate agenda and O.B.E. (Outcome Based Education), graduates are given unique in-house training aimed towards life-long learning, providing the graduates with current and relevant skills that makes them well sought after by future employers."
In conjunction with the release of the survey findings and launch of the Graduate Employability Program with Universiti Sains Malaysia, a total of six career counsellors and nine students were certified as JobStreet.com ambassadors. The joint program is aimed at providing a one-stop centre for students, with JobStreet.com ambassadors trained to provide the necessary support and guidance to university students in preparation for their first job upon graduation.
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About Universiti Sains Malaysia
Established as the second university in Malaysia in 1969, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is the country's premier research university that strives to enhance and strengthen its educational programmes and has taken various initiatives to complement its educational excellence. With its research and teaching facilities, experience, and a multi-disciplinary team of experts from among its staff members, USM has been granted the APEX (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) status in 2008. As an APEX university, USM spearheaded numerous academic, research and innovation excellence in the country, where top researchers and scholars reside.
About JobStreet.com
JobStreet.com and jobsDB are part of SEEK Asia, which is the leading online employment marketplace in Asia. SEEK Asia covers 7 regions, namely Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
SEEK Asia is the extension of the Australian Securities Exchange-listed company called SEEK. The company's purpose is to help improve people's lives through a better career. SEEK Asia's database consists of over 500,000 corporate employers and over 24 million candidates.
