PETALING JAYA: The foreign skilled workforce is not to blame for the unemployment rate among local graduates, higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said.
He said there are various reasons why many Malaysian graduates are jobless, including the low wages offered, and being “picky”.
Zambry was responding in a written reply to Shahidan Kassim (PN-Arau), who asked about the number of engineering graduates who remain unemployed after completing their studies. Shahidan also questioned whether the ministry is aware of the influx of foreign workers in the country despite the unemployment situation of many Malaysians, including university graduates.
Zambry said that based on a 2022 study, 53,257 engineering graduates had been hired, while only 3,495 were unemployed. He also revealed that fresh graduates under the age of 25 made up the bulk of the unemployed, although he did not provide any figures. In November last year, the department of statistics said the number of graduates in skill-related underemployment rose by 7.9% in 2022 to 1.68 million, compared to 1.55 million in the preceding year. In January, investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the government was mulling a proposal to allow foreign graduates of local higher education institutes to work in Malaysia amid a talent shortage, especially in certain technologically advanced value-added sectors. Stay current – Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram
The proposal was criticised by both Cuepacs and former Umno leader Isham Jalil on grounds that it would lead to lower wages and a rise in unemployment among local graduates.