Job Fair for the Unemployed (The Star 12.4.05)

The Star today has a decent comment on the proposed job fair by the Ministry of Human Resources. Agreeably, the idea is a good one, particularly to help resolve the pool of graduates who has not yet been able to find gainful employment.
However, the measure is pretty much a short term one as it does not address the key underlying issues as to why there are so many graduates who are finding it difficult to find employment. The relevant authorities will really have to take the necessary painful decisions to restructure Malaysia's higher education system (as well as secondary education) in order resolve the "employability" problem among the Malaysian graduates.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/4/12/focus/10638011&sec=focus

Job fair will benefit both companies and job seekers
Comment by V.K. Chin

A JOB fair can have several benefits for both employers and those looking for work. Other than looking for work it will be an avenue to those who are about to complete their formal education to find out what is available in the employment market.

While this concept is still a novelty in Malaysia, it is in fact a regular feature in many developed countries in an effort to let the public know what they have to offer.

In this context, some companies may be reluctant to participate in such fairs as their favourite method of looking for workers is by advertising or media publicity.

They are used to school leavers approaching them for work and therefore not used to selling themselves to the public. Some may not like to change this mindset or to give the public the wrong impression.

The response to such fairs will depend to a certain extent on the performance of the economy. In a booming economy, there will be more vacancies than candidates and some companies will have trouble in getting new employees.

Conversely, in a recession, there will usually be more candidates than jobs because most companies will not be doing well. They will be shedding jobs rather than looking for new workers.

The proposed job fair is at the initiative of the Human Resources Ministry, which is extremely concerned with the large number of unemployed graduates, especially those from local
universities.

It is trying to play matchmaker and to give the unemployed graduates the chance to find out what the companies have to offer. There is little doubt that the fair will be well received in view of the many who are unable to find work after graduation.

The target will be those who have been staring at unemployment for several months and they are likely to crowd the fairs when they are held in their hometowns.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn disclosed last week there were thousands of jobs on offer at the fairs for the interested groups to choose from. It is up to them to find
out more from those companies participating in each fair.

Though it is the first such fairs to be organised, its success as far as attendance goes is
almost guaranteed. It is also possible that many companies may sign up workers on the spot if they should find some suitable candidates.

But its objective is not for recruitment only as another important aspect of the fair is to enable job seekers to find out more details first hand from representatives of participating companies.
The fair is therefore an excellent idea and beneficial to both companies and those looking for work and it should be turned into an annual affair instead of a one-off undertaking so that future school leavers too can make use of this useful event.