The Malaysian Graduate Readiness to be Employed in IR 4.0

Abstract

Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) has become the main issue and gain interest nationally and globally. The most affected of IR 4.0 is employment, particularly to the new graduates. The employment opportunity becomes condensed, and the requirement of the job changes dramatically. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the correlation between the new graduate knowledge, skill, technology, and readiness to be employed in IR 4.0. The core factors that contributed to the readiness for employment in 4.0 are also recognized. This study's participant is 255 students from two universities, one in public and the other from the private university using an online survey. Meanwhile, descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regressions use to analyze the important data. The result indicated that technology and soft skills contributed to the readiness to employ in IR 4.0. However, the respondents agreed that they were a deficiency in using technology in their study. Additionally, the readiness was parallel in all of the universities. Finally, the result proposed that university and government as policymakers need to embed the IR 4.0 knowledge, skill, and technology used in the teaching and learning to ensure the graduates ready to enter the labor market.

Understanding and Readiness in Facing IR 4.0 Future Skills Transformation among UPM Trainee Counsellors

“…Interestingly, the results of this study corroborate those of Supian et al (2020), who discovered that students have a high degree of understanding of IR4.0. It is important to highlight, however, that a high degree of knowledge of IR4.0 does not always transfer into a high level of preparedness for IR4.0 among students.…”

“…Despite this, the findings from this research is confirmed by Supian et al (2020), who concurred that undergraduates are unprepared to deal with IR4.0. Numerous variables may affect the readiness of trainee counsellors in facing the demands and challenges of IR4.0., but it is worth noting that the primary reason for the undergraduates' lack of readiness in this research is the lack of formal educational exposure to IR4.0.…”

“…Career readiness is closely connected with the capacity of counseling graduates to apply the abilities gained at the university and turn them into a meaningful contribution at a job. Universities and colleges are mainly responsible for training students for future jobs (Supian et al, 2020). However, the primary issue that impacts the job preparedness among counseling graduates in Malaysia is the absence of soft skills, which may be described as skills and qualities that represent the personality and attitudes of an individual.…”

“…Graduates have said that they are prepared to join the labour market, but the employers reject this notion. Additionally, the industry argues that student interns lack critical thinking, oral communication, active listening, creativity, and innovation abilities (Supian et al, 2020).…”

“…Thus, it is critical for education institutions to prioritise trainee counsellors in G&C so that they may be better prepared for future work in IR4.0 and effectively use the necessary skills. However, successful employment in IR4.0 future skills is strongly linked to the knowledge of IR4.0 and less on the readiness to confront IR4.0 (Supian et al, 2020). Thus, despite their poor readiness to face IR4.0, trainee counsellors have a high likelihood of successful employment in IR4.0 future skills owing to their high understanding of IR4.0.…”