KOTA KINABALU: The number of graduates getting employed post-Covid-19 has increased, says Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud.
He said this was based on statistics from the Graduate Tracking System (SKPG) issued by the Education Ministry in 2022.
He said there were 29,099 unemployed graduates in 2022 – a decrease of 12,368 – from 41,467 recorded the previous year.
For Sabah, he said the graduate unemployment rate also recorded a decrease in 2022 compared with 2021.
“This shows the result of the joint efforts of various parties, the increased level of graduate marketability with increasing job opportunities, especially in the post-pandemic era,” he said.
Mustapha was speaking at the MyFuture Jobs @ MOHE Borneo Zone Career Carnival held at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here yesterday.
More than 1,000 job opportunities for various positions were being offered to locals, especially graduates from higher education institutes at the carnival.
A total of 23 employers from various sectors participated.
The carnival was organised by the Higher Education Ministry in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Human Resource Management Department (JPSM) and Social Security Organisation (Socso).
According to Mustapha, it was important for both private and public universities to put in efforts to provide quality graduates.
He said this would enable them to seek employment not only in the local market, but also internationally.
“Graduates also need to be exposed and have critical thinking skills, leadership, teamwork and have a global character,” he said.
“Today’s job world with economic uncertainty is very challenging, so graduates need to be prepared to compete for jobs in the future.”
Mustapha also said job carnivals would be a continuous effort by the government to ensure that job seekers get employment opportunities from the various sectors.
He said this was made in efforts to address the issue of unemployment as well as job losses among Malaysians.
“In the current situation, cooperation between the government sector, private sector, industry players and educational institutions is key to achieving our goal in developing quality human resources, especially in Sabah.
“We need to be united to address the issue of graduate unemployability.
“Platforms such as career carnivals, dialogue sessions between industry and academia as well as a series of collaborative programmes should be implemented regularly,” he said.
