Why employers hesitate
to hire fresh graduates
| March 28, 2017
Employers federation says today’s workers are
expected to multi-task and fresh graduates need to be open to learning and
doing different things.
PETALING JAYA: Employers tend to hesitate when
hiring fresh graduates because of the latter’s “unrealistic” expectations and
unwillingness to learn new skills, says the Malaysian Employers Federation
(MEF).
MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said
this was on top of the current economic climate, which had made employers even
less open to the idea of risk and training new staff.
“The future of the economy is unsure and most
companies are not taking in new staff, so there are fewer entry level positions
available,” he told FMT.
Shamsuddin was responding to Bank Negara
Malaysia’s 2016 annual report which put the unemployment rate of youth at 10.7%
in 2015, more than three times the national unemployment rate of 3.1%.
The central bank said this was because of the
cautious business environment that discouraged companies from recruiting more
workers.
Shamsuddin said some companies opted to invest
in technology rather than hiring new workers, who would cost money to train.
“Two years ago, the banking industry laid off
18,000 workers in various positions because it had shifted towards greater use
of technology.”
It could also take up to a year to train a fresh
graduate and bosses preferred workers who were “ready to work”, he said.
Many were “a bit” reluctant to take in fresh
graduates who were generally perceived to be “choosy and unrealistic”.
“Many fresh graduates aren’t keen on jobs that
aren’t in the fields they studied in. This is unrealistic and it shows that
they aren’t willing to adapt and learn new things.”
In today’s world, Shamsuddin said, an employee
was expected to possess a wide range of skills and knowledge.
“We are in an age where workers are expected to
multi-task. Fresh graduates need to be open to learning and doing different
things.”
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