Pent-up energy from Covid lockdowns to drive employment growth in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Pent-up energy from lockdowns will drive employment growth in Malaysia, Randstad Malaysia said.

It said after staying at home for more than six months in 2021, many people are eager to get out of the house and make lifestyle adjustments once restrictions are fully lifted and as activities return to normal.

Head of operations Fahad Naeem said workers may also have the motivation to hunt for new jobs, especially if they had planned to do so before the lockdowns and want to take advantage of the new job opportunities once businesses restore their full operations.

“Some employees may be compelled to change jobs as a result of negative work experiences they have had during the lockdown, such as working with a bad manager or not having adequate support to work from home,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Randstad Malaysia yesterday released the 2022 Market Outlook and Salary Snapshot Report which takes a detailed look at the economic climate and recruitment landscape next year.

The report also highlighted that Malaysia remained a candidate-short market.

It said while this may be positive news for organisations that are growing headcount next year, organisations must also be ready to face pre-Covid attrition levels.

While more job candidates on the market, it is critical for employers to understand how to engage and attract top talent.

Naeem said even it was anticipated that more people will re-enter the job search market, companies should not mistake it as a bigger candidate pool to tap into.

“Industries like technology, manufacturing, as well as banking and financial services are facing hiring challenges due to the mismatch between their company’s digital growth ambition and the shortage of qualified talent to realise their business goals,” he said.

As policies on hiring foreign workers are further tightened, he said many employers are looking to hire skilled and digitallyadept talent locally to support their digital transformation projects, particularly talent in cybersecurity, blockchain, digital banking, and the Internet of Things who are in great demand.

Many companies also expect candidates in other functions such as human resources, sales and marketing, as well as accounting and finance to be familiar with working on digital platforms and processes.

“Candidates are also held to higher expectations in terms of their ability to think creatively and adopt technology to improve operations and boost productivity,” he added. — Bernama