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Employers in Malaysia now can save their time and expenses before deciding to bring in foreign workers by putting them for online assessment. The assessment and certification are applicable to those working in factories as part of the condition to extend the foreigner’s working permit.

The assessment can be done via CEDS website handled by Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran Malaysia which will be active starting 15 Feb 2007. It will take about 1 day for each foreign worker to complete the assessment, and the results will be informed to the employers through the same online system.

The website also underlines why the need of exercising the online assessment has become inevitable. Some of them, as were written, were:

“The government of Malaysia has decided that every foreigner must undergo an induction course in their country before obtaining employment visas by the Immigration Department of Malaysia. This is to curb the negative impact brought in by the foreign worker. This impacts, tarnish the good relationship between the two governments.

Lack of basic command of local language, lack of awareness about local culture, customs and practices and lack of understanding of basic rules and regulations of employment are the main factors contribution to the negative impacts.”

Do you think it works?

Technorati Tags: online assessment, fong chan onn, jabatan kemahiran malaysia

Recently, Halim Saad of The Malay Mail interviewed Jobstreet Chief Executive Officer, Suresh Thiru to understand more about the current Malaysia job market, based on Jobstreet statistics.

Now here are the key points that you want to know:

1. It is not difficult to find job these days for graduates in human resource management, computer & information technology, bio-technology, pharmaceutical, and oil, gas and petroleum. These are currently the fastest growing industries based on number of vacancies.

2. Sales & Marketing jobs are also in demand. However, jobseekers are not keen for sales related position, thinking it as a tough area to venture. There are about 7000 to 8000 vacancies in sales and marketing monthly.

3. Computer & information technology is the largest sector with more than 10 thousands jobs posted in 2005.

4. Human resource sector has the highest growth with almost 80% jump of increase, followed by call centre, information technology, bio-technology and pharmaceutical.

5. Graduates need to be aware that employers are not only looking for employees with good academic qualifications, but are also seeking those with leadership traits, good communication skills and excellent interpersonal. Poor command of English is one of the major short comings that puts off the prospective employers from hiring.

6. If you’re looking for an attractive salary package in malaysia job market, find jobs in the area of information technology, computer, engineering, civil engineering, construction, manufacturing, production operations and accounting and finance sectors.

malay mail, malaysia job

Technorati Tags: malay mail, malaysia job

NST reports that Silterra Malaysia, a company specializing in wafer and microchip manufacturing, will provide training programs for local community colleges in Malaysia, as part of the agreement with the government to provide better employment prospects for students enrolling in the college.

According to Silterra chairman Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis, the company is keen to participate in the program and play a key role in developing and shaping the future career of young Malaysians. As part of their social responsibility, they agree to commit their resources and technical expertise with the Malaysian labor force.

Industrial training, internship and facilities sharing will be part of the areas of collaboration covered. Additionally, Silterra will also periodically involved in the review of the curriculum and courses offered to ensure that they are aligned with the needs of the job market.

Silterra’s main facilities and plant are located in Kulim, Kedah, and was established in 1995 and to date, has collaborated with more than 20 universities and higher learning institutions. Among them are Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malayia (UKM) and Universiti Malaya (UM).

Technorati Tags: malaysia community college

HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd head of human resources Adrian Groom talks about how graduates can launch a career with the bank through its Management Development Programme.

ASK anyone to name some prominent banks and chances are, they will mention HSBC. “The world’s local bank”, as the company dubs itself, is no stranger to the majority of young graduates in the country, and landing a job with this multinational definitely qualifies as a dream for many.

With over 9,500 offices in 76 countries and territories around the world, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. Yet, getting a job with the company need not necessarily be a nerve-wracking experience.

HSBC Bank Malaysia Bhd head of human resources Adrian Groom says all it takes is a positive attitude and commitment to the job.

“I genuinely believe that HSBC is a good place to work; we have a low turnover rate, and there is a high demand from other companies for HSBC employees.

Full story on The Star Online.

Technorati Tags: hsbc malaysia, hsbc job

If you have not been to the SKOR Career Malaysia new site; you should know that now there’s a free resume assessment service available on the website where you can copy your resume and send to a group of consultants who will assess your resume for free.

If you want to know whether your resume meets the standard and expectation of the employers, or unsure how your resume rates compared to other jobseekers, then you’re highly recommended to use this service. It will only be made available for a limited time period only, so hurry up!

The service is made available in conjunction with Zul’s Online Resume Workshop, accessible at ZulkifliMusa.com

Technorati Tags: skorcareer, resume evaluation, zulkiflimusa

A degree alone is not enough to succeed in today’s competitive jobmarket. To give undergrads the extra edge, local public universities have integrated soft skills into their programmes.

With an estimated 100,000 students set to graduate from public universities this year – not counting the thousands completing their studies at private institutions and overseas – the company above should not have a problem finding a suitable candidate to fill its vacancy.

Unfortunately, as many employers have oft complained, most Malaysian graduates lack the necessary soft skills vital for work such as communication, problem solving and team work skills.

According to Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar, it is this lack of soft skills which is largely responsible for the difficulty faced by some 90,000 young people in finding employment in Malaysia.

To address this problem, the Higher Education Ministry recently introduced a soft skills module to prepare students for the world of work.
The module is a combination of all the ideas and programmes from the 17 public institutions nationwide, says Assoc Prof Thanthawi Jauhari Ahmad who is head of the Career, Counselling and Alumni centre at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

The standardised soft skills module allows the universities to share their best practices and enhance existing programmes at the same time, he says.

“In UiTM, we start from Day One to prepare students for work.

“This new module adds detail to our current student development programmes.”

At the university, he adds, employers’ expectations have always been emphasised.

“Our graduates are more marketable than their counterparts fro  other universities due to their strength of character, entrepreneurship skills and good command of English; our course are tailored to market needs,” he says.

Technorati Tags: malaysia graduates

Those who are not cut out for higher academic enrollment e.g. degree can alway choose to go to community colleges around the country. The problem is, they are always considered ‘2nd class’ with little to promise on the employment and job prospect.

But this will change as the malaysia government is taking an initiative to rebrand community colleges to improve job prospect opportunities for students enrolling in the colleges. It is targeted that the employment rate will improve from 57% to 80% under the new rebranding exercise.
The crux of the rebranding will involve collaboration with private companies and the over 30 courses offered will be customized to tailor the job market needs. These companies, which also include government-linked companies will provide inputs on which courses suited to their needs as well as providing trainings and internships.

Diploma courses will also will be added, and as many as 25 new community colleges will be opened to cater for this.

14,000 students pursued the 21 full-time courses offered at the colleges last year. During the same period, 71,684 people attended the short-term courses offered at the colleges. 

The rebranding exercise was officiated by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, witnessing the signing of memorandum between Ministry of Higher Education and over 30 companies involved in the collaboration in Kepala Batas. 

Technorati Tags: community college malaysia, abdullah ahmad badawi

According to PIKOM, Malaysia is having a shortage of IT specialists, especially in the networking field. Part of the problem is due to lack of exposure among IT graduates in the real world of IT business.

This situation leaves IT graduates who only have generic knowledge and skills in IT with a mismatch between the skills they have and the skills wanted in the job market.

Sandy Walsh, Cisco regional Networking Academy Programme manager, said Malaysia is short of 4,200 networking specialists, according to statistics from a study by research firm IDC. The study had been commissioned by networking vendor Cisco.

The problem spans the Asia-Pacific region, which faced a shortage of 210,000 networking professionals last year, said Walsh.

She said the region-wide shortage would double by 2009, leaving some 40% of networking positions unfilled, especially in the most critical areas of network security, wireless networking, and Voice-over-Internet-Protocol deployment.

More story from The Star Online.

Technorati Tags: malaysia job, malaysia

Shell is definitely one of those companies in Malaysia many people wish they can get a job there. The job in Shell is considered prestigious, and in many ways offer their employees the chance to work in various different areas and at the same time offering path for career growth.

Shell tops the list of Malaysian Best Companies to work in Malaysia in SKOR Career list published in 2006.
Shell loves talents not only those who have working experience, but also those graduating students with high potential to be developed. The formula of hiring is based on 4 principles, namely capacity, achievement, relationship skills and technical skills.

If you’re a fresh graduate, there are 3 ways for you to try your luck getting a job with Shell:

1. Take up internship with Shell
2. Attend Recruitment Day
3. Participate in Shell Gourami Business Challenge

Their choice of entry route depends on what they feel best suits them but all applications, done online, require candidates to fill up questionnaires and submit resumes.

Internships are available throughout the year, and in Malaysia, are open to penultimate and final-year students in all areas of study.

Those who wish to be recruited via Shell Recruitment Day apply online. Successful candidates are then given face-to-face or phone interviews, after which they turn up on the day itself to be assessed by four people, over eight hours.

Assessment methods include a case study, a group discussion and a business scenario interview, with a technical interview for those seeking technical positions.

The Gourami Business Challenge is a hands-on exercise which allows potential candidates to discover what working for Shell will really be like.

Participants from the Asia Pacific region have to come up with a five-year business plan for Shell operations on a fictional island called Gourami.
Source: The Star

Technorati Tags: shell job, shell malaysia

INTI college has teamed up with Malaysia’s premier recruitment agencies Jobstreet and Jobmarket with aim to provide a quality education with a focus on career development. With the collaboration INTI is hoping to produce more and more graduates having the right skills needed by the job market in Malaysia.

The need of shaping early career has become inevitable due to higher competition in the job market with tens of thousands  graduates produced each year to enter the employment industry. With the stiff competition, it is important for students and graduates-to-be to engage themselves with the right parties and organizations to help them landing their job fast.

The collaboration also allows closer interactions between the graduates and potential employers. INTI will have their website integrated with Jobstreet’s career page where the students will be able to log in and surf for job vacancies available in the website. Similarly, Jobstreet also will be able to identify talents and help them finding their dream career of choice.

The collaboration with JobMarket, a subsidiary of BASIS Group of Companies, will boost the internship programmes for ICSJ students. JobMarket will help students to pursue their internships in various corporations and businesses, thus allowing students an opportunity to gain working experience before graduation.

JobMarket will also organise talks on internship guidance.

Technorati Tags: inti college, jobstreet malaysia, jobmarket, malaysia job