They expect prospects to remain bleak in the next few years as companies cut costs to pay off debts.
Universiti Malaya’s Business and Economy Professor Mohd Nazari Ismail said Malaysians must face the reality of tougher times ahead and must be prepared “to just grab any part time, temporary or lower paying job”.
He said Malaysians should not be hopeful of high-paying jobs. “Times have changed. That is the reality,” he told FMT.
New graduates lucky enough to get hired should put on hold their dreams of buying a car or investing in a home.
“Right now, companies are not hiring people because they want a lean management. They need the extra cash to pay debts. Some companies do not know if they will survive. Employees would not know when they will be out of a job,” he said.
Nazari said a lot of companies had taken loans during the good times to compete with one another. “Now with bad times, companies are forced to implement lean management by cutting extras to operate and manage their finances.”
The second reason, he said was due to political uncertainties of the country. “Political uncertainties cause other worries, ringgit goes down and this affects the whole chain of business with foreign countries.”
Asked if the recent government’s trip to China led by Prime Minister Najib Razak to strengthen ties and open investment opportunities for Malaysians, would create more jobs, he said it would only benefit Malaysians if the cost of projects remain low.
“It depends. If the projects signed are not inflated in prices, it might create more jobs,” he added.
Najib witnessed the signing of 14 agreements for projects to the tune of RM144 billion between Malaysian and Chinese companies.
In Parliament last week, MPs were told that 75,000 Malaysians have been retrenched since 2015 and up to 200,000 graduates were still seeking jobs.
Economist Prof Hoo Kee Ping said education officials must produce graduates with skills needed by industry.
“We still have thousands of psychology and other graduates that are not in demand. There has to be a check and balance of the number of graduates needed in the industry. Why churn out something that is not needed by the industry. It is a waste of the taxpayers money and everyone’s time.”
Hoo felt that the tie-up with China might benefit Malaysia but unemployment will remain a major problem as companies shut down or reduce manpower.
He said Malaysians will need to cope with the uncertainties and school leavers signing up for colleges will need to evaluate the needs of the market before signing up for their future.