Currently, there are shortages in talent within the industry, especially in the engineering and technical fields, Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (SAMENTA) has urged the Malaysian government to allow international graduates to work in the country to ease the chronic talent crunch.
“We estimate that Penang alone is short of 50,000 engineers and technicians. This has limited growth in the semiconductor, manufacturing, and logistics industries. The problem is especially severe among SMEs, who have to compete with multi-nationals for these talents,” said SAMENTA national president Datuk William Ng in a statement on February 4.
He stated that the popular misconception is that SMEs are not paying enough for local workers which is not true.
“Some SMEs are paying between RM 4,000 and RM 5,000 for fresh engineering graduates. However, these graduates either prefer to work for MNCs or are demanding preferred work conditions that many SMEs cannot deliver,” he said.
Currently, the number of international students in engineering and technical studies number less than 20,000.
According to SAMENTA, allowing graduating international students to work not only will ease the talent crunch but also allow Malaysia to retain these talents that they have trained.
Even if there were comments that the job opportunities for the locals would be disrupted, it is unfounded as even if a quarter of them graduate each year, and 10% choose to stay and work, that’s less than 700 engineers and technicians that the country can absorb.
“On the contrary, having this immediate pool of additional talents will help convince foreign and domestic investors to stay and expand their operations – in turn enlarging the economic and employment pie for Malaysians,” added Ng.
He also stated that if the cabinet approves this long-standing call by the industry to allow post-graduation employment for international students in economically critical sectors and job specialisations, Malaysia will be joining several advanced economies such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and the United Kingdom in allowing graduating international students to work and contribute to their economies.
“These same advanced economies are poaching our talents daily, and if we are to remain competitive, we too must consider attracting and retaining top talents in Malaysia – starting with graduating international students,” Ng said.
He concluded, “These post-graduation employment visas are typically short-termed, non-renewable and are specific to identified industries and jobs, so the fear that allowing them will distort the job market or displace local talents is unfounded.”
