PETALING JAYA: The mismatch between what industrial sectors need and the work force being produced by universities and colleges does not bode well for hopes of higher salaries.
Sunway University economist Prof Dr Yeah Kim Leng said companies would not mind paying higher wages as long as the incumbent was trained to do the job.
“It has been identified as the missing link in the education sector. The country has placed a lot of emphasis on tertiary education.
“The main aim has been to produce university graduates but the education system seems to have forgotten about the needs of the industrial sector.”
He said technical and vocational training needs to be enhanced to meet industry requirements, adding that the government has emphasised Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to meet industry-specific needs.
“There is huge graduate unemployment because of a mismatch between what is being produced by universities and colleges and what industries need.
“TVET institutions are not producing graduates that meet industry requirements. There must be collaboration between institutions and industry stakeholders.
“There is also a lack of adequate experts in institutions to get TVET graduates ready for the job market.”
He added the government wants companies to pay higher wages, but an increase in wages must be met with adequately-trained candidates and higher productivity. “If there is no such contribution from an employee, how is the company suppose to pay higher wages?”
Yeah said companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SME), are cost-conscious and are unlikely to be able to afford higher wages if they cannot get skilled workers and higher productivity from their employees.
The Statistics Department said labour productivity per hour worked in Q3 2021 registered a decline of 0.6%, with a value of RM40.9 per hour compared with RM40.5 per hour in Q2 2021.
SME Central chairman Datuk William Ng said Malaysia’s labour productivity declined by 5.6% in Q3 2021.
TVET Empowerment Committee former head Nurul Izzah Anwar said a key issue affecting TVET institutions was the extended closures during the movement control order period.
She said such closures adversely affected students and it would be hard to get those who have taken other jobs to return to their trained industry, adding that a huge pool of candidates were lost while TVET institutions were closed.
She also said SME play a very important role in the economy and the government has a duty to ensure they are provided with trained workforce. “Emphasis must be placed on how to increase productivity and to meet industry needs,” she said, adding that the job market has become very sophisticated and workers were now transient in nature.
