KPT draws up strategies to increase graduate marketability - Noraini

The Higher Education Ministry (KPT) has drawn up several strategies to increase the marketability of graduates post-COVID-19 pandemic, including developing the Graduates References Hub for Employment and Training (GREaT) portal.

Its minister Datuk Dr Noraini Ahmad said that among the services which would be available on the one-stop portal were job matching, applications for reskilling and upskilling as well as sponsorship facilities and financial assistance for further studies.

“This effort clearly shows that the government is very sensitive to and caring in overcoming problems on unemployment and graduate marketability.

"However, students must also make an effort to improve their skills in facing current challenges,” she said in her speech at the official launch of the HRDF PENJANA initiative here yesterday.

The event was launched by Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan and also attended by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican.

Noraini said the KPT had also strengthened the implementation of the reskilling and upskilling programmes by focusing on high-demand training fields, such as robotic engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and data engineering.

“Apart from that, training related to soft skills, such as leadership, communication and personal appearance, have also been carried out through strategic collaboration with various agencies,” she said.

Meanwhile, Reezal Merican said his ministry had also taken the initiative to carry out cross-ministry collaboration by exploring all relevant ministries to empower post-COVID-19 youths.

“As a result, the ministry’s collaboration with the Human Resources Ministry and Works Ministry managed to come out with the National Apprenticeship Scheme (SPN) based on the place-and-train concept at various private companies, government-linked companies (GLSc) and multinational companies (MNCs),” he said.

The Youth and Sports Ministry has also collaborated with the Communications and Multimedia Ministry, through the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to create the myGIG programme, which offers 2,000 job opportunities for youths to join the myGIG Service and myGIG Digital Freelance programmes.

-- BERNAMA