JOB-HUNTING is like a game of chance – the lucky ones can easily secure a job upon graduation while others struggle with unemployment for months.
This has resulted in many job seekers settling for a lower salary or seeking employment outside their field of study.
At the same time, the current workforce finds themselves at risk of being irrelevant due to the incoming flow of graduates that are now armed with highly sought-after skill sets.
“The rat race is inevitable, and it will continue to be competitive,” said SEGi University & Colleges managing director Stella Lau.
“Hence, getting into the habit of lifelong learning is crucial to stay ahead of the game in the ever-changing job market.”
Lau explained that even as businesses struggled during the pandemic, the premier higher regional education provider recorded a strong student intake for its postgraduate programmes.
“COVID-19 severely impacted the job market; millions of people faced drastic pay cuts, job losses and temporary layoffs,” Lau remarked, adding that Malaysia recorded 5.61 million graduates in 2021, an increase of 4.7% from 5.36 million in 2020.
“Once the industries were back in business, they had to compete with the ‘newbies’ for the limited number of available positions.
“Given the competition, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Master’s degree became the new Bachelor’s in the hiring world.”
Lau further elaborated that about 622 students from SEGi College Kuala Lumpur graduated with a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) for the 2021/2022 academic year.
Offered in collaboration with the University of Sunderland (UOS), UK, the one-year programme is completely coursework-based so that students can integrate their work experience with a tailor-made curriculum.
A recent study indicated that job candidates with an MBA have greater visibility among hiring managers; these candidates are offered higher salaries due to their versatile skill set and strong communication and strategic thinking skills.
“Getting an MBA is the next logical step in staying ahead of the competitive job market as its benefits are applicable regardless of your career focus area,” Lau noted.
“Our MBA programme is designed with industry-driven subjects like Financial and Professional Management, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Technology and so forth so you can gain all the skills and knowledge that matter in your career progression.”
SEGi’s MBA programme with UOS is offered across four of its colleges; SEGi College Subang Jaya is recognised for achieving a 100% graduate employability rate for the years 2020 and 2021.
“In addition to the MBA, SEGi has a large portfolio of postgraduate programmes for you to bring out ‘The Best In You, Made Possible’,” said Lau.
As one of Malaysia’s leading higher education institutions, SEGi has received multiple prestigious awards and recognition throughout its 45 years of excellence.
SEGi is recognised as one of only 20 universities worldwide and one of only two Malaysian universities to achieve an overall QS 5 Stars Plus Rating. It has attained QS 5 Stars rating in eight evaluations, including Teaching and Employability. For more information about all the programmes available at SEGi, visit www.segi.edu.my. – Sept 23, 2022
