While your children are battling with SPM for the next one month or so, what are your plans for them once the exams are over? Have the tertiary academic courses been selected or are they still undecided, hoping that the exam results would point to a more realistic direction?
It is best to let them pursue their dreams and ambitions; at the same time, it is always good to have a reality check - the unemployment rate is no joke. It is forecasted that Malaysia will be facing a 3.15 percent unemployment rate in the year 2016. Up to August this year, it’s 3.5 percent, while the employed stagger at an average salary of RM2,231.00 per month. With fluctuating oil rates, one cannot be sure if the statistics will improve or worsen with time.
A lecturer that I know advises his students to choose their tertiary courses according to job vacancies in the daily. If it’s in demand, it’s worth studying. For example, vacancies in accounting and sales are never exhausting.
A very interesting video by LinkedIn caught my attention recently; it’s about 10 most in-demand skills in 2017. The list by rank is as following;
1. Cloud & Distributed Computing - People who can develop and maintain these networks are the most in-demand.
2. Statistical Analysis & Data Managing - Employers increasingly need people to find and make sense of data.
3. Web architecture & Development - Building websites that are both aesthetically pleasing and functional.
4. Middleware & Integration Software - Middleware enables communication between software programmes.
5. User Interface Design - creating software that people interact with is becoming more important.
6. Network and Information Security - As Internet of Things develops, security is becoming more important.
7. Mobile development - Skills like app development fit into this category.
8. Data Presentation - Employers increasingly need people who can organize data so it’s easy to understand.
9. SEO/SEM Marketing - Search engine optimisation & search engine marketing improves web search rankings.
10. Storage systems & Management - Improving computer data storage and access.
Taking businesses online
More than half of the jargons are alien to people at my age but not to teenagers or young adults of these days. As a businessman myself, I can relate how important is IT integration in our daily routine. I also urge every other businessman to take their businesses online - it’s a matter of survival.
And by appointing Jack Ma as an adviser to our government’s digital economy aspiration, I think Malaysia will have ample of job openings in the IT field in coming years.
Other forgotten but important and emerging industries include agriculture and food technology. According to a survey by JobStreet, the top five industries that are recruiting right now are;
1. Manufacturing & logistics.
2. Banking & financial services.
3. Construction.
4. ICT.
5. Wholesale & Retail.
Somehow, I feel that a visit to the career fair is as much as important as visiting an education fair before making up your mind. It is important to ensure that our children are aware of the scopes that they will be dealing with in the career path that they have chosen.
This will also serve as good platform to give them an idea on the additional knowledge and skills that they will need to acquire while at the varsity. Make it a point to prepare them for the impossible; that they might not be recruited in the same field that they graduated from, and it’s okay to take up any opportunity that is irrelevant to their bachelor’s degree.
Tell them survival means not being too choosy and absorbing as much as possible when it comes to transferable skills.
Three-months break after SPM
Eighty percent opt for part time jobs - I would say go for it, but, it must be relevant to their passion. If they aspire to be a lawyer, let them work in a legal firm, mingle with top lawyers and get a glimpse of how and what is needed to be a successful lawyer. If they wish to run their own restaurant; let them work in a café, learn the do’s and don’ts of the business.
You will be surprised to see the impact of this experiences, some will change their mind and opt for courses that are more apt for their personality, strength, while some will be more determined than ever to graduate with flying colors - and those without a definite decision might be able to make up their mind just before applying to universities.
This is also the right time to do lots of personality grooming and skills training. Prepare them to be global players, send them for counseling from experts if there is a need for it.
Top recruitment agencies have pointed out that most of the graduates fail in interviews or could not sustain for more than a year in working environment for the following reasons; poor attitude, poor English, poor communication, close to zero adaptability, poor multitasking skills, bad decision making skills and almost zero problem solving skills.
Expose them to the above attributes and brush them up as competitive individuals. Let them read and travel as much as they can, let them see for themselves how life fairs on the other side of the planet.
SPM is the gateway to their adulthood; it is our responsibility to ensure that they make minimal mistakes when it comes to life-deciding routes.
As the president of the Malaysian Indian Network of Entrepreneurs Association (1MINE), I always encourage everyone to venture into business and become their own bosses, but I also stress that proper education, awareness and exposure is crucial in running a business professionally.
Therefore, their tertiary academic choices counts in determining their future, as parents, you must let them make their own choices – with the right guidance from your well-informed discriminations.
Your battle, too, starts now.
S GOPINATH is president of the Malaysian Indian Network of Entrepreneurs Association (1MINE).
