Employers Want English Speaking Grads
By Zul • Jun 25th, 2008 • Category: Career •
A survey done by the Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM found out that most of the employers in Malaysia place a high emphasis on English communication ability in considering fresh graduates for employment.
The fact that many of them cannot converse well in English has contributed to redundancy of graduates who often finding themselves disillusioned after being rejected by employers, one after another. The issue of unemployment among fresh graduates is not new and has been lingering around for years.
More than 50,000 graduates out there are currently stranded without jobs, and the number is set to increase in the near future.
In the survey, good command of English became the second most important criteria, after critical thinking ability. Both of these two top attributes will make the employee an asset to the organization, and with the mastery of the two skills, they will go far in the career, and the marketability will multi-fold after few years of employment. Other key important criteria that would further help graduates in the job market include their soft skill ability e.g. conveying message communication), as well as an enhanced IT skills and knowledge.
The survey was spearheaded by the UPM’s alumni center, and was assisted by some 4,000 graduates who recently finished their studies. (Source: The Star)
Poor English is not only found in local graduates but also in a surprisingly large number of foreign graduates. A separate study conducted by Monash University in Australia found out that one-third of the foreign students studying Australian universities graduated with very poor English skills. It discovered that students from South Korea (55.5%), Thailand (50.9%), Nepal (47.9%), Taiwan (47.4%), China (43.2%), Japan (36.8%) and Malaysia (23.5%) contributed to the bad statistics. In the survey, 12,000 students were tested. (Source: BBC)
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