KLANG: To overcome the imbalance between the number of high-value jobs offered in the labour market and the number of graduates from higher learning institutions as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the government has launched several policies to address the matter, according to Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
The minister said among the policies in question were the MADANI Economic Framework and progressive salary policy which were among the efforts made by the government across ministries to ensure that every graduate and worker received a dignified remuneration.
“We have about 300,000 university graduates yearly, plus 100,000 TVET graduates, making a total of 400,000 Malaysians with higher education qualifications, but every year we are only able to generate 50,000 high-value and highly skilled jobs,“ he said.
He said this when met after the 2025 Trade Union Affairs Programme (PHEKS) Central Zone assistance handover ceremony here today.
Sim also encouraged workers to join trade unions so that suitable salaries or remuneration could be negotiated well with employers.
Yesterday, the media reported that more than 65 per cent of degree holders in the country earn a monthly salary of below RM3,000, thus earning an ‘enough to eat’ income with no room to save, invest or increase their social mobility.
In addition, more than 70 per cent of graduates in the country were found to be forced to work in the semi-skilled and unskilled sectors.
The findings were obtained through a study The ‘Gaji Cukup Makan’ Economy: When Higher Education Becomes an Economic Risk, conducted under the Malaysia Labour Market Insight Series.
