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The increasing unemployment rate among the undergraduates in Malaysia is a worrying trend. For many years, the issue cropped up again and again, made the news headlines, and even hit the parliament.
The days have passed when a degree scroll can become your automatic passport to employment. Higher education is no longer a symbol of career success. This may sound painful for undergraduates but let’s face it. It is reality, no matter how harsh it may appear.
In July 2006, The Sun newspaper reported that the unemployment rate of public universities has reached a staggering 70%, whereas the private institutions recorded 26% and foreign graduates 34%. Out of the 70%, the highest unemployment was contributed by the following statistics:
1. Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM – 3,278 (16.2%)
2. Universiti Utara Malaysia, UUM – 1,532 (7.6%)
3. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM – 1,147 (5.7%)
4. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM – 971 (4.8%)
5. Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM – 919 (4.5%)
The situation was somewhat different before the 1997 crisis when Malaysia was having a vibrant employment and undergraduates were in high demand. But those were the good old days and things are no longer the same today. Is the job market getting more competitive, or it is the job seekers and graduates are actually unmarketable these days? Can we blame it entirely on education?