Abstract
INTRODUCTION During the Ninth Malaysia Plan, 2006-2010, the services sector was the main contributor to the Malaysian economic growth and expanded at the rate of 6.8 percent annually. Contribution of this sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased to 58.0 percent (Malaysia, 2010). This sector also becomes the major employment generator, which contributes 85.0 percent of 0.9 million new jobs created in that period. As an engine of economic growth, this sector is expected to record a growth rate of 7.2 percent annually until 2015 and has the potential to increase its contribution to GDP by 61.1 percent by the end of the Tenth Malaysia Plan. Considering a high contribution of the services sector to GDP and work force, it is important that this sector be provided with sufficient skilled workforce to boost the growth of the sector. The services sector that are rapidly expanding following the strong performance of the subsectors of finance, insurance, real estate and business services; wholesale and retail trade, hotel and restaurant; and transportation and communication are expected to generate about 752,000 (85.7 percent) new jobs. As a whole, the government sector, wholesale and retail trade, hotel and restaurant and finance, insurance, real estate and business are subsectors that generate the most new job opportunities in the services sector. Total employment for the administration and managerial, and professional and technical by services subsectors have increased especially after 2000. Percentage of employment in the services sector from total employment increased from 9.9 percent in 1990 to 26.8 percent in the year 2008. In terms of total employment, the government services industry and other related services employ the most workers during the same period. The majority of the workers in those industries are public servants, army, police and defence, and the education sector (like teachers and lecturers) and health services sector (like doctors, nurses and paramedics). In the year 1998, when there was an economic crisis, the total employment for this sector increased most evidently. This followed the ensuing limited job opportunities available or offered in the private sector causing the graduates from the educational and training institutions at the tertiary level to depend mainly on job opportunities offered by the public sector. Data and information of the labour market and projection of work force requirements according to economic sector and types of job are important for planning and formulating a policy and strategy of economic development especially for human capital development planning. Nevertheless, an issue of lack of comprehensive information about the demand for workforce by the market is often the main issue raised at all levels of dialogue to formulate a policy and strategy for human capital development (EPU, 2007). Shortage of data and information on manpower requirements for jobs by industry are among the main challenges encountered by institutions of higher learning and supervison of skills training in making effective education and training programmes. This is especially so in identifying courses to be offered, improving the curriculum and teaching and learning approach; and plans the intake of students in line with the requirements of the job market. These issues contribute to the presence of skill missmatch between demand and supply in the labour market. The government also has to bear additional expenditures for training programmes to increase the marketability of the manpower needs and at the same time increase the cost of providing education and training. Study by the Malaysia Firm Competitiveness, Investment Climate, and Growth for the manufacturing and services sector shows that among the main problems encountered by the manufacturing and services sector are shortage of skilled labour force for certain types of jobs. Shortage of skilled labour force is also one of the barriers in providing a more conducive business environment to attract inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in that economic sector. …
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.