KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28  — Good news for fresh graduates from public and private universities as organisations are more likely to recruit them in 2021 and 2022.

A survey by recruitment, market research, education and employer branding company, Talentbank, with 196 organisations in Malaysia revealed a whopping 73.41 per cent of respondents intend to hire fresh graduates next year.

Its chief executive officer, Ben Ho, said 21.97 per cent of respondents were unsure and a small percentage of 4.62 per cent said they were disinclined to hire, meanwhile 76.3 per cent respondents were optimistic they would be hiring fresh graduates in 2022.

“The survey which was conducted in October is indeed good news in the current period of volatility and uncertainty brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused many companies to cut operating costs by reducing manpower to get through the crisis.

“It also means that private and public universities in Malaysia are producing graduates with the right set of skill sets needed by the industry,” he said.

Ho added that the respondents were mainly in senior positions attached to mid-sized and large organisations, which formed 80.35 per cent of all respondents while public listed companies in Malaysia made up 33.53 per cent of the segment.

The survey results also revealed promising job prospects for fresh graduates with backgrounds in Accounting, Business Management, Marketing, Computing and Information Technology, Human Resource Management, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Mass Communications, Banking and Economics.

The monthly salaries offered to fresh graduates from all fields average between RM2,501 and RM3,000, while internship allowances average RM1,000 per month.

Ho said a majority of 91.91 per cent also chose good attitude over academic results while the remaining 8.09 per cent stressed on academic result over a good attitude when hiring fresh graduates.

“These results point to a growing demand for people who are versatile, able to pick up new skills and take on new responsibilities thrown at them,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA