UPSKILLING AND RESKILLING STUDY FOR BETTER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AMONG YOUTH

Dzulzalani, Eden and Goy, Siew Ching and Terrin, Lim and Shanti Faridah, Salleh and Wan Arnidawati, Wan Abdullah and Abdul Jabbar, Abdullah and Umar Haiyat, Abdul Kohar and Wan Mohd Nazdrol, Wan Mohd Nasir (2021) UPSKILLING AND RESKILLING STUDY FOR BETTER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AMONG YOUTH. Institut Penyelidikan Pembangunan Belia Malaysia, Putrajaya. ISBN 978-967-18190-7-4

PDF Dr Goy Siew Ching.pdf Download (1MB)

Abstract

The study was commissioned to investigate the skills gaps brought about by the IR4.0 among TVET educated youth nationwide, in order to devise the appropriate interventions in terms of policies and action plans. The study was conducted for a period of six months commencing 1 October 2020 until 31 March 2021 in collaboration with the Institute for Youth Research Malaysia (IYRES) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak with members form the University Teknologi Mara (UiTM), University Putra Malaysia (UPM), University Technology Malaysia (UTM) and University Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). The study adopted a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative approaches in addition to desk research. It commissioned a series of focus group discussions among key stakeholders consisting of all the eight ministries that oversee their respective TVET providers operations. In addition, these sessions were also conducted with other related government agencies such as the Institute of Labour Market Information & Analysis, Social Security Organisation, Human Resources Development Fund, Department of Skills Development, Malaysian Qualification Agencies, and Industry Lead Body. To gain perspectives from the industry, a series of focus group discussions were also held with employers in all the six zones namely Central, Northern, Southern, Eastern, Sabah and Sarawak in which a total of sixty people had participated, comprising of senior managers who are in charge of training and recruitment in their respective companies. The sessions were jointly organised with the Social Security Organisation whose representatives were also present during the sessions to deliver a special talk on MyFutureJobs and Hiring Incentives. A separate session was also conducted with the Majlis Belia Malaysia consisting of twenty-six leaders from youth organisations throughout Malaysia to seek their input and feedback for the study. An online nationwide youth survey was also conducted in which a total of 982 respondents participated comprising of those aged between 15 to 40 years. The results revealed a high rate of employment among youth, with 60.4 percent of the 982 respondents surveyed currently employed. The remaining 39.6 percent are either not in the labour force or still searching for jobs. Despite this, employment distributions show regional variations, with a higher share of employment in Central, Northern, and Southern zones while a higher incidence of unemployment in the East Coast, Sabah, and Sarawak. This trend is found to be aligned with the trend in the 2019 labour force survey. Job hierarchy distributions were identified as a source of concern. While most of the TVET-trained youth worked in semi-skilled occupations, only a small number were occupying high skill jobs. Furthermore, female employment in high-skilled jobs was lower than male youth. For example, only three out of every ten high-skill jobs were held by females. In addition, males were more likely to work in non-service industries like manufacturing and construction, while females were more likely to work in service industries like retail, hospitality, and education. The study shows that there is a lack of adequate skill matching and training needs among youth. Youth, regardless of their demographics, have been confirmed to be lacking in preparation for challenging duties and potential employment. While youth experienced a high pace of technological changes and new technologies in their jobs or workplaces, TVET youth received little on-the-job training, putting them at risk of lacking necessary skills. In the low-skilled category, skill matching is higher than in the high-skilled category. Although both male and female youth had a high percentage of skill matches, female youth were more likely to have low skill matches due to the skill needed for the employment and the skill they already had. According to the TVET survey, the majority of TVET graduates reported that their jobs required both technical and soft skills. The majority of youth agreed that their basic skills should be strengthened in all dimensions (technical, numeracy, literacy, computer, and English). In order to be ready for IR4.0 work environments, the majority of respondents (70 percent - 85 percent) stated that they needed to develop their core competency skills. Similarly, participants in the focus groups said that while TVET graduates had adequate technical skills, they lacked communication, complex problem-solving, and creative thinking skills, all of which are needed in a challenging workplace. The issues regarding qualification matching were also reported. More than half of those polled stated that their qualifications did not match the requirements of their jobs. In the overqualification group, the mismatch was greater at 45.5%. As a result, less than half (46.2%) of the respondents stated that jobs matched their qualifications. While gender did not affect mismatch, youth with Diploma and higher were more likely to experience overqualification. Overqualification is common in low and semi-skilled job categories. It appears that more young people in Sabah are working for wages that were lower than their qualifications (overqualified); youth in the Eastern region, on the other hand, were more likely to be employed in jobs that required higher qualifications than their own (underqualified). In terms of field of study, slightly more than half of the respondents (56.5%) reported that their TVET specializations were very relevant and just slightly above a quarter stated it was moderately relevant. These awee mostly witnessed in those holding high-skills jobs. A small proportion of the respondents stated that their specialisation was irrelevant to their jobs particularly those in the overqualified group. Youth who were working in the non-services sectors tended to have a greater relevancy of their specialisation to their jobs. The study also found that industries such as manufacturing as well as oil & gas tended to have a higher proportion of employees having TVET education compared to employers in the services and plantation sectors. Another major finding of the study is the wage differential issues that occurs particularly in terms of gender in which female youth reported a much lower income than male youth. In addition, those with matched qualification to their job reported higher income than those working in jobs that did not match their qualifications. The study has put forward key recommendations that encompass the whole spectrum of TVET implementation in Malaysia. These include jobs creation and career development, upskilling and reskilling needs, rebranding of TVET focusing on quality and future potentials, establishment of integrated TVET labour market information through data warehouse as well wages enhancement initiatives.

Actions (For repository members only: login required)

View Item