Malaysian Jobseekers Are "Somewhat Acceptable" Compared To Talents From Other Countries
"We are actually quite okay but if you talk about English proficiency, we fall behind Singapore and the Philippines."
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 28 Feb 2017, 05:19 PM
JobStreet's country manager thinks that Malaysian jobseekers are "somewhat acceptable" compared to candidates from countries like Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines
"We are actually quite okay but if you talk about English proficiency, we fall behind Singapore and the Philippines," JobStreet's country manager, Chook Yuh Yng told Malay Mail Online (MMO) recently.
A recent survey by JobStreet, the Job Outlook Survey 2017, revealed that despite the dip in hiring, there are five industries that have assured that they will be hiring to fill important positions this year.
The five industries are:
1. Computer and information technology
2. IT enabled services and business outsourcing
3. Food and beverage
4. Education
5. Manufacturing
Chook also advised candidates looking for jobs in the five sectors mentioned above to not put too much emphasis on salary demands and employment benefits as it is better to have a job than be unemployed
"The economy is bad, candidates should not demand two or three times more in terms of salary just because they think they are qualified for the job because it is better to have a job, than none," she said.
What position are employers looking to fill the most?
Out of those five sectors, it was mentioned that 36% need senior executive positions to be filled, 24% are looking for junior executives, while 21% want candidates for managerial positions.
The five sectors only make up 18% of the industries and employers that participated in the JobStreet survey.
Meanwhile, 84% of employers said that they are only looking to fill critical positions and the remaining 16% will not be hiring and may even consider laying off their workers.
"The overall sentiment is that the job outlook for 2017 is going to be even more sluggish than 2016 and 2015," added Chook.
With predictions that the Malaysian job market will be taking a backseat this year, Malaysian Trade Union Congress secretary-general J.Solomon, has pinned the reason on the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit
"If the ringgit depreciation remains or continues on a downward trend, we are expected to head towards a gloomier condition.
"There are also opportunist employers in this climate getting rid of Malaysian workers especially the lower income group," added Solomon, as reported by MMO today, 28 February.
The unemployment rate in Malaysia rose to 3.5% in December 2016, while the number of unemployed persons is at 512,000.
Do you think Malaysian candidates are less capable compared to the ones in the neighbouring countries? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.