Employers now are looking to hire for transferable skills, rather than narrow academic labels. — 123rf
FOR young people today, entering the workforce armed with a university degree no longer comes with the reassurance it once did.
Degrees that took years to complete now feel uncertain within months of graduation, while new artificial intelligence (AI) tools appear every other week, promising employers all sorts of improvements to their workflows.
This pace of change has fuelled anxiety among fresh graduates and students still in the midst of their studies.
Many are left wondering whether the careers they trained for or are studying about will still exist in a recognisable form, or whether they have already chosen the “wrong” path.
Experts now say “future-proofing” a career in the age of AI depends more on the ability to quickly adapt to changing work processes and understand what employers increasingly value in their human hires.
Learn, relearn, unlearn
Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief executive officer Anuar Fariz Fadzil says upskilling is crucial, especially for those who previously specialised in administrative roles or repetitive, structured tasks such as basic accounting, data entry, scheduling and routine customer queries.
This is because they are often the first to see AI incorporated into their workflows – however, Anuar cautions that this shift should not be seen as an elimination of roles, but rather an evolution.
“The value in these roles is shifting from performing the task to overseeing the process, interpreting insights and making judgement calls.
“This transition highlights the urgent need for upskilling, which is a key national priority.
“Recognising this SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] reality, the government’s focus on digitalisation is precisely about ensuring our workforce is prepared,” he says.
As such, he advises fresh graduates to learn how to become digitally literate even as they cultivate their human advantage.
“First, embrace digital fundamentals – understand data, basic AI concepts and how digital tools work. This is no longer optional; it’s the new baseline.
“Second, actively develop the applied skills to work with AI, like data interpretation or digital strategy.”
The workplace will prize those who can bridge the technical side of things with their human soft skills, he says.
You don’t even have to learn about advanced tech, he adds, as employers, especially in SMEs, often care more about fundamental digital literacy and adaptive problem-solving.
“SMEs still seek talent who can understand basic data dashboards, execute digital marketing, or manage e-commerce platforms,” he says.
Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman also makes a similar point, saying that employers are increasingly prioritising continuous skills development as they no longer assume a degree alone is sufficient for long-term relevance.
Employers now are also looking to hire for transferable skills, rather than narrow academic labels.
“Graduates who can demonstrate how their academic training translates into real-world problem-solving are viewed favourably,” he says.
This does not mean degrees have become obsolete, he adds, but rather they are seen as an important foundation, not a final destination.
“A degree signals baseline competencies such as discipline, analytical ability and exposure to structured learning,” he says.
The real risk for fresh graduates, he says, is not about having the “wrong” degree, but having a static mindset.
The entrepreneurial mindset
Cultivating the right attitude and learning agility has become more and more important in an economy where traditional career ladders are less predictable and where opportunities are no longer limited to formal employment alone.
Anuar Fariz notes that entrepreneurship and self-employment are in high demand in this economy shaped by AI.
Those who have an entrepreneurial mindset – which he describes as people who can wear multiple hats, think strategically, and adapt quickly in lean environments – have an edge as these are human-driven capabilities that AI alone cannot provide.
However, Prof Chan Chee Seng from Universiti Malaya’s AI Department says, in his experience, most university graduates currently are not inclined towards entrepreneurship.
“Always first in their minds is ‘I need to look for a job’.
“But why can’t you start a job? Or start a company?
“So that is where in UM ... we have a programme for AI entrepreneurship.
“We want every single student who joins our bachelor programme in AI, they need to take this subject, because we want to change the whole mindset of the country from being a user to an innovator,” he says.
MDEC is also trying to foster this spirit of AI entrepreneurship among Malaysians, says Anuar Fariz, as addressing this systemic need is central to MDEC’s mandate as an enabler.
“We connect the dots across the ecosystem. Through initiatives like eUsahawan, we’ve provided over 630,000 entrepreneurs with practical digital skills,” he says.
Skills linked to entrepreneurship are also useful for young Malaysians even if they do not plan to start their own business.
As AI has reduced the amount of purely routine work, that means entry-level roles are no longer just about basic execution.
“As a result, employers now expect fresh graduates to contribute thinking, initiative and problem-solving earlier in their careers.
“Employers value graduates who can identify problems, ask the right questions and make sense of complex or ambiguous situations.”
These strong thinking and critical analysis skills retain their value over time, Syed Hussain adds, making them essential for youths looking to future-proof their careers.
In the end, as these experts say, it’s not the degree or the technology that determines continuous relevance, but rather one’s ability to think, adapt and take responsibility.
