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“adopt a reskilling and upskilling mindset. Continuously work towards increasing your skills to get employed and stay employed. this is especially so for in-demand roles in fast-growing industries. Enhance your soft skills and English proficiency. take up courses to improve your digital skills. Businesses are globalised and most use English as the medium of communication. Most are also moving towards digitalisation. new graduates must continue learning, whether they are in parttime or full-time jobs. Higher education institutions must keep pace with market demands by forging stronger linkages with the industry. this would enable them to identify the appropriate skills and qualifications needed for future jobs. Higher education institutions also have to prioritise enhancing digital skills, soft skills, critical and analytical thinking, problem-solving, creativity and emotional skills among their students.”
Malaysian Employers Federation president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman
“Skills usually gained through work experience can be developed even before one graduates. Fresh graduates may not have work experience but skills can be developed anywhere – even at university. at the higher education level, these skills can be taught within the curriculum and also outside the curriculum through projects students are involved in. Most universities will have real-life projects and students will need to find solutions to real-life issues, giving them a sense of what the working world looks like. universities also partner with some organisations to organise projects run by students. this is one example of how to expose students to relevant work experience while they are still studying – the ‘work experience’ is embedded within the curriculum. as for school leavers, as soon as they finish their exams, they should go for career and job fairs. talk to employers to gain a sense of what they are looking out for and what skillsets are in demand. then, students will be more aware of the kind of courses they want to choose and the careers they want to go into after finishing their degrees. they can also already take on part-time jobs or shortterm internships. doing freelance work in the gig economy adds value to a resume, making them more attractive to employers. young people, though adaptable and agile, can be quite laid-back at times. they need to develop more resilience – something that has become very important as we saw the job landscape change drastically over the course of the pandemic.”
CAREERSENSE@HELP director Eric Bryan Amaladas
“gain some ‘work experience’ while studying. Industry experience is very important so that students know what skills industries are willing to pay for. So, having lecturers with industry experience and industry guest speakers are important to ensure students learn relevant skills. Courses and programmes that provide students with internship opportunities to experience the actual work environment are crucial. Formal learning integrated with realworld environment, challenges and opportunities, and multidisciplinary learning, prepares students for what work will be like when they graduate.”
Taylor’s University deputy vice-chancellor and chief academic officer Prof Dr Pradeep Nair