Ong Ching Loon of the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) said many fresh graduates were unsure what to pursue or specialise in.

“They (fresh graduates) do not know what they actually want to do. For example, engineering is a huge sector with many areas that a person could specialise in.

“However, many of them are unsure which area they should focus on. This is not the right attitude,” he said during a forum panel discussion on the 2022 National Education and Learning Summit today.

He added that in a competitive job market, it would also be hard for fresh graduates to progress in their careers if they did not have the passion for it.

Another panel speaker, Malaysian Bar treasurer Murshidah Mustafa said that many local graduates are not ready for employment.

She said graduates did not meet the expectations of employers due to the skills gap, including English language proficiency, which is regarded as a crucial employee quality.

“That aside, graduates also have trouble applying and practising the knowledge and theory they learnt in university into their jobs.”

Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities president Parmjit Singh said upskilling and reskilling programmes were vital to producing employable graduates and a competent workforce.

He said universities should also better prepare graduates with marketable skills and provide courses and programmes that are in demand for the current and future job market.