Management and Science University (MSU) graduates seen celebrating their momentous occasion. Local tertiary institutes need to re-evaluate their syllabi and internship programmes for Malaysia to remain competitive.
THERE is merit in the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry’s (Miti) proposal to overcome the talent shortage, especially in technology- intensive areas, by employing foreign graduates of local tertiary institutes. This is necessary in the push to transform the economy through the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030).
Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz says Malaysia’s tertiary institutes produce only a tenth of the 50,000 engineers needed in the core electrical and electronics (E&E) industry of the manufacturing sector.
This figure is specific to Malaysians. It does not include foreign engineering graduates from local tertiary institutes or Malaysian engineers who graduated abroad. Covid-19 worsened the situation as intermittent lockdowns and border closures accelerated digitilisation to smoothen work processes.
For example, due to a shortage of low-skilled foreign workers, automation in the manufacturing sector accelerated. There is now a need for digitally-savvy individuals. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered machines mostly populate the traditional line-production facility.
This is where it gets tricky. With automation, fewer jobs are available, even the “innovation-driven, knowledge-based job opportunities” that pay well, a key goal of the NIMP 2030.
It is also vital to determine whether the goals of NIMP 2030 can be met largely within seven years and if the right jobs can be offered across the professional, technical and managerial spectrum as AI restructures the job landscape. Therefore, employing foreign graduates can cut both ways.
In the US, top-rated and well-funded tertiary institutes always draw students from all over the world. After graduating, these students settle down and contribute to the economy.
Some begin global businesses and even win the Pulitzer Prize. Malaysia can learn how to nurture this foreign-born talent, who might even help it gain access to markets and research and development.
Foreign graduates can be a valuable asset in the long term as proven by developed economies. Many Malaysian graduates are jobless because of the skills mismatch, as local tertiary institutes do not produce what the country needs.
There are also communication gaps and English language barriers that must be overcome if NIMP 2030 is to embed the country’s industrial clusters into the GVCs.
A 2023 essay that won the third prize in the Nottingham-World Bank Economics Writing Competition, on unemployment challenges among Malaysian university graduates, noted that the top three courses with the greatest number of unemployed graduates were from social sciences, business and law; engineering, manufacturing and construction; and sciences, mathematics and computing.
While the demand is high for those with engineering, manufacturing and construction qualifications, there is an oversupply. The essay pointed to excessive enrolment and lack of practical training as the main causes for unemployment.
There seems to be a lot of disconnect. Miti says there are not enough local engineers, whereas the essay says there is oversupply coupled with other issues such as lack of training.
Local tertiary institutes may have to work closely with employers to provide more practical training that is relevant, or the economy may not produce enough jobs for these engineers as Malaysia de-industrialised prematurely. Under NIMP 2030, the economy will be re-industrialised, but jobs should be offered to Malaysians first.
There are caveats that local tertiary institutes need to re-evaluate their syllabi and internship programmes.
There are also as many compelling reasons to hire foreigners who graduate from local tertiary institutes. Imagine the talent pool, cultural knowledge and overseas opportunities that can be developed. Goodwill is surely also an important factor in a world where it is sorely lacking.
This article first appeared in Star Biz7 weekly edition.
