BUKIT LANJAN: Raise your competency in English for job quality and stability

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan says there are many vacancies, but graduates are let down by their own incompetencies.
Looking for jobs? Learn to speak English first, says MEF
Sheith Khidhir Bin Abu Bakar and Nurul Azwa Aris
| January 18, 2018
MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan says there are many jobs available but graduates are not competent enough to fill them.
PETALING JAYA: Graduates have only themselves to blame if they fail to get jobs as there are many vacancies but they are not competent enough to fill them, says the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF). MEF was responding to remarks by Pakatan Harapan (PH) prime ministerial candidate Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who lamented the fact that many graduates end up becoming drivers for ride-hailing companies such as Uber or Grab, or selling nasi lemak. The PH chairman said this should be a source of embarrassment for the country … for more, go to http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/01/18/looking-for-jobs-learn-to-speak-english-first-says-mef/

BUKIT LANJAN: Raise your competency in English for job quality and stability

The 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide found in a survey that employers would remain cautious and thus don’t expect big salary increases.

It also reported that employers were also not expected to increase headcount - meaning, job vacancies will shrink.

“In such volatile and sluggish economic times, both domestic and globally, just think of remaining employed,” Gerakan Deputy Speaker Syed Abdul Razak Alsagoff said.

“And, job hopping is a No! No! You may hop into misery,” he added.

In fact, Syed Razak said, listen to the advice of the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) - Learn to speak English first!

“MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan had said that there are many vacancies for job seekers, especially graduates but they are unemployable.

“Most of the jobs require employees to be competent in English, both spoken and written. The jobs require employee to communicate with clients or customers.

“So, no English no job. It’s as simple as that,” he added.

Malaysia Unemployment Rate - Forecast

Unemployment Rate in Malaysia is expected to be 3.40 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Unemployment Rate in Malaysia to stand at 3.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Malaysia Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 4.10 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models. https://tradingeconomics.com/malaysia/unemployment-rate/forecast

Syed Razak, who is Gerakan’s nominee to contest N.37 Bukit Lanjan in the coming 14th General Election (GE14), said the priority for employees and job-seekers “is not about salary or increments”.

“It is about making yourself employable. Be competent in English, both spoken and written. That will not only raise your chances of getting a job, it will also provide job stability after you are employed.

“And if you are efficient and productive, the promotions and salary increases automatically follow,” he added.

Here’s the online news portal Free Malaysia Today (FMT)’s report on the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide:

"March 1, 2018

Sorry, you’re unlikely to get big salary raise this year

FMT Reporters

The 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide shows only 46% of employers intend to increase the headcount in 2018, compared with 44% in 2017. (Blogspot pic)

PETALING JAYA: Don’t expect a big salary increase this year as a survey has shown that employers remain cautious despite the feel-good factor in the country.

The Edge Markets, citing the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide, reported that employers were also expected to remain cautious on plans to increase headcount.

The survey found that salary increases will be moderate this year with 49% of employers planning to offer salary increases of between 3% and 6%, which is 1% lower than what was reported in 2017.

Only about 39% of employers in 2018 plan to offer salary increase of more than 6% in the year ahead.

“Although most companies in Malaysia plan to award only modest salary increases during their next review period, we do expect to see significant increases for candidates with niche skills moving jobs as well as those with skills which are in short supply in 2018,” Hays Malaysia regional director Tom Osborne was reported as saying.

The survey also found that only 46% of employers intend to increase the headcount in 2018, compared with 44% in 2017.

Meanwhile, 73% of organisations are expecting business activity to increase this year in conjunction with growing business confidence in Malaysia.

The survey showed that optimism is also growing about the expected performance of Malaysia’s economy in 2018, with 23% of employers expecting the economy to strengthen further.

“The economic outlook for Malaysia is very positive, but our research shows employers will take a conservative approach to both permanent hiring and salaries in 2018 to make the most of these conditions,” Osborne said.

Hays said many employers in Malaysia were concerned about the continuing skills shortage issue in the country that is also a prevailing theme across the Asian region.

Osborne also predicted fewer new jobs would be coming into the market this year.

The survey, released today, is based on responses from over 3,000 employers across mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, representing some six million employees."

N.37 LET BUKIT LANJAN SOAR WITH SYED ABDUL RAZAK ALSAGOFF