Recently, the World Bank's "Malaysia Economic Monitoring Report" revealed the severe employment problems faced by Malaysian university graduates. The report shows that over 25% of college graduates are unable to find jobs that match their majors, a significant increase from 8.6% in 2010, indicating that a large number of graduates' professional skills are idle or underutilized.

In 2022, the workforce with degrees accounted for 48.6% of the workforce with higher education. However, it is concerning that 26.9% of graduates have not fully utilized their professional skills in the workplace. Behind this data, it reflects the disconnect between Malaysia's current education and employment markets. Many graduates find that there is a significant gap between their major and actual employment needs after leaving school, which leads them to choose jobs that do not match their major.

The report further points out that the insufficient number of high skilled positions is one of the main factors causing this phenomenon. Between 2018 and 2023, the market provided less than 50000 high skilled positions, while there were 200000 to 350000 graduates competing for these positions during the same period. This fierce competitive situation makes it difficult for many graduates to find jobs that match their majors and fully utilize their skills.

Regional differences are also an important factor contributing to the employment problems of graduates. The report shows that Kelantan state has the highest rate of employment qualification deficiency, with over 50% of skilled workers in highly qualified positions, which is much higher than the national average of 36.9%. Terengganu, Glass City, Pahang, and Johor are also facing similar issues. In contrast, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Selangor have lower job mismatch rates and offer more high skilled job opportunities, attracting a large number of graduates to seek employment.

Compared with neighboring countries, Malaysia, although better than Thailand and Indonesia in terms of the proportion of high skilled workers (29.6% compared to some lower proportion in Thailand and Indonesia), still lags far behind Singapore's 60%. This reflects that Malaysia still has significant room for improvement in education and skills training, and more effective measures need to be taken to enhance the employment quality and competitiveness of graduates.

The report proposes key strategies to address this challenge. On the one hand, it is necessary to align educational courses with industry demand, strengthen cooperation between schools and enterprises, understand market demand, and adjust professional settings and course content accordingly. On the other hand, it is necessary to enhance Malaysia's competitiveness in attracting high-quality investment and promote the creation of high skilled employment opportunities. In addition, providing lifelong skills training and career development guidance is also an effective way to help graduates cope with job challenges.