KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s new graduate employability strategy must go beyond helping graduates secure jobs to improving their earning power and enabling them to move into higher-skilled roles, says Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir.
The Higher Education Minister said the focus should no longer be solely on graduate employment, but also on how Malaysia’s higher education system could become a catalyst for high-value job creation, higher productivity, and greater social mobility.
“In the past — and perhaps this is still partly the case today — we operated within the context of job readiness. But going forward, we need to establish a platform that creates future readiness,” he said in his speech at the Higher Education Ministry Graduate Employability Conference 2026 (PKGKPT 2026) on Thursday (Aug 20).
Zambry said the latest graduate employment figures showed that while unemployment had declined and median salaries had increased, there remained a need to examine the quality and suitability of the jobs graduates were taking up.
“In 2024 (though we should consult the latest figures), there was a cumulative total of 5.98 million graduates. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.2%, with potential further decreases in 2025, while the overall median graduate salary rose to RM4,521,” he said.
He said the median monthly salaries for graduates in 2024 were RM5,723 for highly skilled workers, RM2,550 for semi-skilled workers, RM1,990 for low-skilled workers, with RM4,521 for the overall median salary.
“This shows the core issue is not simply whether graduates find employment, but rather graduates taking jobs that do not match their qualifications, skills and productivity,” he said.
Zambry said there must be a greater emphasis on aligning salary progression with graduates’ skill sets, sector-specific placement rates and actual underemployment levels, while facilitating their progression into high-skilled roles.
“The Higher Education Ministry cannot do this alone as it requires cross-ministerial collaboration, which we have already initiated through joint council meetings,” he said.
Citing the World Economic Forum report, Zambry shared that emerging job opportunities will include artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning specialists, big data specialists, fintech engineers, software and application developers, information security analysts, renewable energy engineers, environmental engineers, and autonomous/electric vehicle specialists.
“In their 2025 report, it estimates that 170 million new jobs will be created by 2030, while 92 million existing or traditional jobs will be displaced. This net change will effectively yield 78 brand new jobs,” he added.
In collaboration with the National Defence University of Malaysia, the conference serves as a strategic national platform bringing together stakeholders from higher education institutions, ministries, government agencies, industry and strategic partners to discuss the direction, current challenges and strategies for strengthening the country’s graduate employability agenda.
The event saw the launch of the Graduate Employability Strategic Plan (PSKG) 2026–2030, alongside the presentation of the 2021–2025 Graduate Employability Outstanding Performance Awards, MyMoHEs System Star Rating Certificates and the Certificates of Appreciation to the Expert Group and Strategic Plan Writers.
Also present at the event were Higher Education secretary-general Datuk Aminuddin Hassim and Higher Education director-general Datuk Prof Dr Azlinda Azman.
