THE mismatch between job requirements and field of study was one of the reasons for the uptrend in graduate unemployment in the last four years.

“The government has identified the reasons behind graduates failing to get a job after completing their studies,” Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim told the Dewan Negara today.

In addition to the mismatch between job requirements and qualification, poor soft skills, preference to work in a particular location and inability to find the suitable positions, were among the other reasons contributing to this problem.

Awang said certain employers were less inclined to hire graduates with a low cumulative grade point average (CGPA).

Statistics Department figures recorded 145,800 unemployed graduates in Malaysia in 2016. The number increased to 154,500 in 2017, 161,300 in 2018 and 170,300 in 2019.

Awang said the government has set up a special committee on June 5 to come up with long-term reforms to  address the structural issues in the labour market.

He was answering a question by Senator Idris Ahmad on the state of graduate unemployment between 2015 and July this year. – September 15, 2020.