KUALA LUMPUR — Forest interactive’s CEO, Johary Mustapha, recently shared his thoughts on graduates’ starting salaries in Malaysia at an Institut MASA webinar. Titled ‘Starting Salaries for Graduates – Low or Fair?’, the event was held virtually via Zoom and streamed live on Facebook on May 7.
The panel discussion was also joined by Prof. Datuk Dr. John Antony Xavier, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of AIMST University, Farouk Khalid, Partner & Client Engagement at The Center of Applied Data Science, and Premanand Ayavoo, Caretaker of Student’s Representative Council of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. The session was moderated by Ahmad Azuar Zainuddin, Founder & CEO of Satu Creative Services.
Johary began the discussion by pointing out the mismatch of demand from the industries and supply from the universities: “While there are a lot of graduates entering the market, most companies are still slow at keeping up with the supply. This results in a high number of unemployment among fresh graduates. Additionally, job openings in the private sector are also declining based on the numbers that were shared before.” He refers to the nation’s Department of Statistics numbers cited by him and other panelists.
Johary also noted that the failure to give a good first impression to prospective employers, before landing a job interview, is one of the contributing factors to why fresh graduates find it difficult to secure a job.
“From an employer’s perspective, we would expect a cover letter, a resume or a CV, and a brief explanation about themselves when sending an email to apply for a position in the company. Today, a company would also love to see students or fresh graduates applying for a job do some research beforehand to understand what the company does. This research will help job applicants resonate with the company’s vision and missions, and explain further how they can be a fit to the company,” explained Johary.
“In reality, most job applicants don’t take the initiative,” he continued. “They simply send an email asking whether or not there’s a vacancy instead of applying properly. This is something that hasn’t change for years and employers are having a hard time connecting with them. It is one of the gaps that we can see from the industry’s perspective.”
Johary shared the interview process and data on fresh graduates hires at Forest Interactive.
Meanwhile, Farouk mentioned that new skills and new knowledge is crucial for fresh graduates to be able to secure a job that matches their qualifications. “Employers are willing to attract talents with the right skills.”
Farouk also highlighted that competency is one of the important factors within a person’s control. “When we talk about competency, there are two parts; IQ and EQ. Get yourself accredited, which is important on the technical side when you do your work, but most fresh graduates struggle with their EQ; the measurable soft skills like analytical thinking and how you communicate with people, as well as common courtesy to say ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’.”
“Determine how you can add value to the organization. The minute you demonstrate this capability, you will be very marketable anywhere based on the right attitude and the right skills,” added Farouk.
While internship and placement programs have been one of the ways for graduates to explore the working world, Prof. Datuk Dr John Antony Xavier also encouraged students and fresh graduates to further equip themselves with in-demand skills through additional courses. “Students should sign up for as many courses as they can to enhance their skills. For example, AIMST University runs executive programs on IR4.0 like artificial intelligence and data analytics. You may be a graduate from another discipline but you need to keep on learning.”
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Premanand pointed out that there is a need to address the lack of accessibility to said resources in the rural areas. “Another gap worth highlighting is that how we create opportunities for graduates from rural areas, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, where most of them have little to no access to these resources.”
Johary has always believed that the future of Malaysia lies in the development of today’s youth. Previously, he shared his thoughts on the need for a 360-digital approach in the education sector at last year’s #MYDigitalMaker Fair — an event organized by The Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
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About Forest Interactive (as of May 2021)
Forest Interactive develops scalable mobile platforms that enable mobile operators and content providers to build enriched customer experiences with highly-customizable and easy-to-use platforms. With over a decade of industry experience, Forest Interactive has expanded to include a workforce of 28 nationalities in 17 regional offices and 35 operating countries, providing innovative and comprehensive solutions to over 90 mobile operators and over 120 content partners with the capacity to reach 1.4 billion subscribers worldwide.
For more information, please visit forest-interactive.com.
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