ON March 16, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called on all employers to offer a starting salary of RM3,000 to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates.
Recently, Senator Datuk C Sivaraj proposed that graduates be offered a monthly wage of no less than RM3,000 to cope with the rising cost of living.
But how are graduates categorised? If diploma holders are excluded, are all those with a bachelor’s degree competent?
The Department of Skills Development (JPK) issues Malaysian Skills Certificate (SKM) from Level 1 to 3, Malaysian Skills Diploma (DKM) and Malaysian Advanced Skills Diploma (DLKM). Those with DKM and DLKM are regarded as highly skilled in their fields.
But under the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), the Advanced Diploma is placed at Level 5 of the Malaysian Qualifications Framework. Level 6 starts with a graduate certificate, followed by a graduate diploma, with a bachelor’s degree at the top.
While skills certificates and diplomas are issued by JPK, academic certificates, diplomas and degrees are issued by countless institutes, colleges, and universities in Malaysia and around the world. However, the government only accepts qualifications recognised by MQA.
Nevertheless, in the private sector, it is performance that counts. Those with high qualifications or great track records may be recruited with equally high expectations but will be given the boot if they cannot perform, as employees are not paid for their diplomas or degrees.
If so, raising the minimum salary for all graduates could easily backfire. Instead of raising their income, more could lose their livelihood if unemployed because demand will be poor for services and goods that are overpriced.
Employers have no qualms about paying more to those who are productive. Take for example two classmates with equally excellent SPM results. One could afford to continue to study and later go on to obtain a diploma or a degree.
The other had to start working to support himself or his family, and therefore strives hard in the workplace to prove his worth. Instead of acquiring academic qualifications, he picked up industry-relevant knowledge, gained valuable job skills and earned promotions.
Should the graduate join the same company, he would be offered a lower position and salary than the schoolmate with only SPM qualification. This is because most of the theories he studied and information he remembered could not help him to apply and perform well at work.
But if the graduate is humble, has a positive attitude, is dedicated to his work, and has great communication skills so that he could learn fast and get along well with everyone, he could eventually leapfrog many in the company.
But alas, most freshmen graduates are not like that, as they could hardly describe well in their own words things they ought to know, thanks to superficial understanding from years of rote learning and completing assignments through copy and paste or outright plagiarism.
In the private sector, all employees must earn their keep. They need to be productive and earn profits for the company much more than their salaries. In years that are profitable, bonuses are distributed as a reward and to incentivise them to continue producing good results.
It will be foolish for any employer to underpay a well-performing staff that would be welcomed by the competitors. Companies grow when they can employ all the productive workers they can find in the market.
But not all employers are equal, especially in smaller companies where the bosses are only interested in filling vacancies and hope those recruited will stay in the same job as long as possible, without any plans for their career growth.
It is common to find staff organisation charts displayed in government agencies but not in the private sector. But companies that wish to grow their business should not only display the current organisational chart but also plans for the next year and five years down the road.
This will remind existing staff of the company’s expansion plans and motivate them to work hard and fill the higher positions available next year. The organisational chart projected in five years’ time will show the full size of the company with new divisions and branches in place.
I have set up many new companies. Although I preferred graduates, I gave a chance to those without a diploma or degree but with good character and communication skills character and communication skills. Because I am highly skilled, I have always recruited those without experience in the same business.
And I would train them so well that they could be more knowledgeable in two months than someone who has been in the same business for 20 years, which may just be one month’s experience repeated 240 times.
Even for the most junior staff, I would tell them to think like a manager from the very first day. I would usually leave the companies I have set up within two years and allow the staff that I have recruited and trained to take over the running of the business after I accepted new offers.
Many graduates spent tens of thousands of ringgit to study at a university, but the most valuable experience they could gain is in their first job. Instead of paying, they are being paid to learn so they can perform well at work and contribute significantly to the organisation.
But few employers would pay RM3,000 or more to graduates with a bad attitude. — April 7, 2023
YS Chan is Asean Tourism Master Trainer for travel agencies, master trainer for Travel & Tours Enhancement Course and Mesra Malaysia. He is also a tourism and transport industry consultant and writer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
