Premium salary awaits fresh grads through GEM portal, says Minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Fresh graduates have the opportunity to earn a premium salary through the newly launched Graduate Employability Management (GEM) portal, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The Higher Education Minister said the ministry’s current objective is not limited to ensuring graduate employability but also to establish a new benchmark where graduates can expect to earn higher salaries.

For the ministry's GEM portal (KPT@GEM), he said the ministry has set RM4,000 as its "premium salary rate".

However, the ministry acknowledges that much work needs to be done to achieve this goal, and collaborating with industry professionals is one of the strategies considered.

He added that a pilot project has been done by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) aimed at cultivating industry-ready talent.

This pilot project is specifically tailored for the electricity and electronics (E&E) industry, he said.

He said approximately 40 individuals from the pilot programme have successfully joined the workforce, earning a salary of RM4,000.

“Currently, there are around 70 to 80 individuals undergoing training (in this pilot). However, the demand exceeds our capacity, ranging from 200 to 900 individuals annually.

“USM alone cannot meet this demand. This necessity led to the creation of the platform,” he told reporters after the 2023 Graduate Labour Market Conference (PPKG) at Pullman Hotel here on Wednesday (Nov 1).

Mohamed Khaled also said that discussions are currently underway to propose a premium salary rate for sectors beyond E&E.

GEM is a platform which allows users, specifically graduates under the Higher Education Ministry, to seek practical training and employment opportunities.

It also enables the industry to identify candidates who meet the necessary criteria for job placements where GEM streamlines the process in connecting potential employers with qualified graduates.