Published: 26 June 2014
Employers
have complained that many university graduates have a poor command of the
English language. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, June 26, 2014.
Employers are becoming increasingly dismayed by Malaysian "generation Y" job seekers who generally have a poor command of the English language and lack communication skills, are too spoiled to handle stress, and in a hurry to climb the corporate ladder yet indifferent to the need for experience.
These Gen Y
recruits, when compared with previous generations, are also less impressed with
job benefits such as medical insurance and bonuses, preferring instead
immediate cash rewards for performance, surveys among employers and trade
groups have revealed.
This damning
indictment of today’s 20-something job-seekers’ attitudes is in large part due
to an education policy in previous years that de-emphasised the importance of
the English language, said a school education group.
In fact,
Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) believes that these policies have
created a “lost generation” of young adults whose command of the English
language is weaker than previous generations and who will miss the changes in
schools that will benefit future generations.
Malaysian
Employers Federation secretary Datuk Shamsudin Bardan said that a survey a few
years ago among its members found that 60% of them identified low English
proficiency as the main problem with young recruits.
While a
similar survey in September last year by online recruitment agency JobStreet.com
found that 55% of senior managers and companies who took part said that poor
command of the English language was the main reason for unemployment among
undergraduates.
School
graduates might have SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) English grades of A and B
but could not even hold a conversation in English, Shamsudin said.
“Which is
why we were excited when the government decided to teach mathematics and
science in English (PPSMI), as we felt this could boost their command of
English.
“Unfortunately
it was cancelled after seven years when we should have allowed it to continue
for 14 to 15 years to see the results.
“The
inability to converse and understand English (among young school leavers) is a
constant complaint among our members,” said Shamsudin. The MEF has 4,800 direct
members and 21 affiliated trade associations.
It is the
largest grouping of employers who collectively employ two-thirds of the 2.2
million people in the formal private sector.
Christopher
Raj of the Association of Hotel Employers said that out of 10 job applicants in
the hospitality sector, eight or nine could not speak English.
“The problem
is bad not only among school leavers but also graduates from our local
universities. You ask them in English and they answer in Bahasa Malaysia.
“Private
college graduates tend to be better,” said Raj, who is also a council member of
MEF.
As
immigration laws do not allow hotels to hire English-proficient personnel to
man front-line positions where English is critical, major hotels have had to
invest in English-language courses for their new employees.
The courses
are designed to build confidence in trainees for restaurant and counter staff
to converse in the language, Raj said.
PAGE
chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the secondary aim of PPSMI was to
provide more opportunities to students to practise English – a crucial step in
increasing proficiency.
Its first
aim was to help science-oriented students make the transition to university and
colleges where almost all science texts are in English.
“Proficiency
in any language is about practising. PPSMI created more opportunities for
students to practise,” said Noor Azimah. PAGE has campaigned for the government
to allow schools to continue the policy.
The
government discontinued PPSMI in 2011, seven years after it was implemented in
primary and secondary schools. The reason given was that it resulted in only a
marginal increase in English proficiency among students.
However,
Noor Azimah said a study showed that in mathematics and science examinations,
where students were given a choice of whether to answer in English or Bahasa
Malaysia, more than 90% of Tamil primary school students answered in English.
In national
schools, the same studies showed that 60% of students chose to answer in
English than in Bahasa Malaysia.
As if weak
English was not enough, employers such as Raj complained that young job seekers
in their 20s don’t seem able to handle stress well or work themselves up from
the bottom.
“Graduates
these days come from colleges and immediately want to become managers, without
even any experience. You can’t scold them and they can’t handle stress,” said
Raj, who has spent 33 years in the hotel business.
MEF’s
Shamsuddin says that recruits in their 20s, the so-called generation Y, are
“restless” compared with their elders.
“They have
their eyes on the now instead of the future. They are less attracted to
benefits such as annual bonuses, medical benefits, retirement.
“In fact,
they want annual bonuses portioned out on a monthly basis,” he said.
“I think it
is because of the business environment these days. Companies have to be
fast-moving to compete so it shapes employee attitudes.” – June 26, 2014.
Published: 26 June 2014
Published: 26 June 2014
Published: 26 June 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment