9 minutes
PETALING JAYA: The employment outlook for skilled professions next year looks quite dim as jobs being created are mostly not in this sector, according to the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
There are close to 600,000 jobs that are available on JobsMalaysia but the only problem is that most Malaysians are unwilling to take up these jobs, its executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan (pix) told theSun.
“Of the 600,000 jobs which are mostly lower end, only 60,000 jobs are executive level which attract Malaysians but the main problem here is that there are 200,000 graduates who are looking for jobs,” he said yesterday.
“Due to the changing job environment, people need to be more flexible and they have to face the fact that with the implementation of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, job losses are expected and which should be around the 30,000 figure, the same level as this year.”
He said because these positions remain unfilled, employers are forced to employ foreign workers.
“Most Malaysians are not interested in the low-end jobs. Locals prefer higher-end jobs,” Shamsuddin said.
Pointing to financial services where the players are moving on to more online services, he said the number of people required in this sector would drop. This would lead to layoffs, he added.
Shamsuddin urged workers to be prepared to deal with the changing work environment to ensure that they remain employable.
He said the employment outlook for next year looks quite dull and the reason is because of the spill over effect from this year’s outlook.
The projected unemployment rate would hover around 30,000 next year, the same as this year, he said.
