MALAYSIA FEBRUARY 19, 2018 corporate 53 SPECIAL REPORT

MISSING SKILLS: Is higher education on the mark?

Malaysia’s growth story is coming under pressure from many sides, including a shortage of skilled workers in critical occupations, high dependency on cheap labour, which discourages investment in innovation, a higher education system hungry for resources and low collaboration between industry and academia. Can the stakeholders come together to solve this complex problem? Rash Behari Bhattacharjee and Syahirah Syed Jaafar examine the issue.

PICTURES BY THE EDGE TABLE 1 CRITICAL OCCUPATIONS LIST REPORT 2016/17 he list of human cap- ital obstacles that the Negative impact of not fi lling in critical occupations nation is facing is cer- tainly formidable. Take SECTORS INCREASED WORK DIFFICULTY IN INCREASED DIFFICULTY the skills mismatch that FOR EXISTING GIVING QUALITY COSTS IN MEETING EMPLOYEES PRODUCTS/ (%) CUSTOMER Thangs over graduate job (%) SERVICES (%) NEEDS (%) seekers like an unwel- Aerospace 30 61 39 57 come cloud. The shortage of skilled workers Business 78 33 11 33 is not only seen in the persistent services problem of youth unemployment but it is also cited by businesses as a Education 67 25 50 42 key factor constraining investment. E&E 71 42 35 35 This raises a host of questions. Financial 72 38 21 34 Can Malaysia’s higher educa- Shamsuddin: Companies turn to Idris: MOHE is mindful that higher services tion system close the gap between countries like India because we education and market demands are jobs and candidates’ skills that is don’t have the people. I think that is constantly evolving Medical devices 48 12 16 4 making vacancies in critical occu- very telling. ICT 33 40 13 20 pations increasingly hard to fi ll? The answer to that question is Oil, gas & 59 9 34 9 keenly awaited by the stakehold- “Unfortunately, a lot of IT grad- around artifi cial intelligence and energy (incl ers — including students, higher uates are not suitable for this work data and a relentless demand for petrochemicals) learning institutions and busi- because they have not been trained specifi c soft skills such as adapt- nesses — whose fortunes depend for it. ability, creativity and collaboration”. Telecoms and 61 22 30 22 on the outcome. “As a result, companies turn One constraint is that employ- multimedia Employers in 10 key economic to countries like India because ers today want market-ready can- sectors surveyed by the govern- we don’t have the people. I think didates to fi ll their vacancies rather ment’s Critical Skills Monitoring that is very telling. The industry than investing in training recruits, Committee report four main eff ects has moved ahead but the system says Shamsuddin. required,” Higher Education Min- • Insufficient technical skills; of staff shortage. is not able to fi t the industry with “Companies are not patient ister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh says in and The committee’s Critical Occu- the right people.” enough to train our people any- an email reply to The Edge. • Insuffi cient soft skills such as pations List (COL) Report 2016/17, The COL report verifi es this. It more. They say it is not their role. “This means that MOHE too creativity and communication. a bellwether study by Talent Corp states that big data analytics was In the early 1980s or late 1970s, needs to evolve to ensure that ed- (See Table 3 on Page 56.) Malaysia Bhd and the Institute of one of the top skills in demand in employers were prepared to train ucational off erings of Malaysian Many questions arise from this Labour Market Information and Malaysia in 2016, citing studies people, even up to one year. But higher education institutions (HEIs) conundrum: Why is there an un- Analysis, identifies these effects by recruitment consultancy Hays now, they would rather have people are in line with the needs of indus- bridgeable gap between the remu- as increased workload on current and career networking platform who can contribute straight away try, while also keeping in mind the neration off ered and job seekers’ employees, diffi culties in providing LinkedIn, in addition to the COL to the organisation,” he says (see role of education to promote good expectations? What lies behind quality goods and services, increased survey fi ndings. Table 2 on Page 56). values and appreciation for the arts, the multiple skills defi cits — stu- costs and diffi culties in meeting Worse, the crunch is not about Recognising the huge challeng- history and social sciences.” dent quality, deficient training, customer needs (see Table 1). to be resolved soon. Employers in es in skills development, the Min- policy issues, or all of the above? Malaysian Employers Feder- the COL survey frequently respond- istry of Higher Education (MOHE) High expectations, Are industry and academia work- ation executive director Datuk ed that they found it harder to fi ll is engaged in a national transfor- insuffi cient skills ing together enough on solutions? Shamsuddin Bardan gives an ex- these vacancies compared with the mation initiative to deal with this As for why businesses found it dif- ample of where the problem lies. previous year, or they expected the issue in all its complexity. fi cult to recruit the right people, Dependence on cheap labour “With the current trend towards trend to continue. “MOHE is mindful that higher the top four factors were: The Bank Negara Malaysia 2016 digitalisation, companies need data Interestingly, the latest Hays education as well as market de- • High expectations of salaries/ Annual Report shines the spotlight analysts to mine big data for busi- forecast on Jobs and Skills Trends for mands are constantly evolving, with benefi ts; on the dilemma. ness growth,” he tells The Edge. 2018 sees “an explosion in new roles new skills, knowledge and expertise • Insuffi cient work experience; CONTINUES ON PAGE 56 54 corporate MALAYSIA FEBRUARY 19, 2018 SPECIAL REPORT

Seismic change imminent in learning

he Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (High- er Education) clearly rec- Tognises that a “fundamen- tal transformation of how the higher education system and higher learning institutions cur- rently operate” is required for Ma- laysian youth to thrive in a com- plex and ever-changing future. Noting the constraints dis- cussed in the main essay, a num- ber of opinion leaders who The Edge interviewed pointed to the need for a shake-up of the education Shareen: TalentCorp is working with Chua: Good industrial training Ong: We must remember that Sohail: Teaching training should system at various levels. MOHE to review and improve the programmes must be developed to industry often has diff erent be adapted to prepare for a world The top proposals, briefl y, are: course content of universities bridge the skills gap that is making it objectives from academia when it after jobs • Give education boards and in- diffi cult to run businesses comes to research stitutions autonomy; • Make curriculum reviews dy- AFP namic; neurship studies,” he says. “We must remember that in- • Introduce transformative in- While the various reform pro- dustry often has different ob- dustry-academia collaboration; posals address the current prob- jectives from academia when it and lem of academic relevance and comes to research. Industry wants • Make market testing of aca- skills shortage, there is a whole to keep innovative research in- demic research the norm. clutch of parallel issues to be ad- house and for competitive advan- Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir dressed because of the changing tage but academia wants to pub- Johari, who is the DAP parliamen- nature of work in this age. lish this to make its work known tary spokesperson for education, One is the rise of independent to others. This is why clearly de- science and technology, thinks work and another, the shortening fined output is necessary from that decentralisation is key to an cycle of obsolescence and renew- the start.” eff ective education system. al. As a result, workers must get Drawing from a renaissance “The root of the problem is used to the idea of lifelong and initiative involving several ed- structural and this needs to be life-wide learning. ucational systems, futurist Prof fi xed. The practical way is to give In describing the challenge, Sohail Inayatullah states that ed- autonomy to educational institu- Khazanah Research Institute di- ucation needs to innovate for to- tions. People today want choice. rector of research Allen Ng says, morrow’s jobs. Then they are happier. So let them “Due to the increasing trend to- “We know that there are six decide. Remove politics from the wards independent work, upskill- or seven areas in which tomor- governance of academic aff airs,” ing programmes must change row’s industries will grow,” he he says. from being employer-driven to tells The Edge. An obvious starting point for employee-centric.” These trends include life ex- reforms is to axe courses that no While all these measures tension and ageing, innovations longer serve industry needs. show there is much work to be in genomics, fresh approaches to Universiti Malaya, for one, is done to align higher education city design and new types of food, already overhauling its stable of At a career fair ... TalentCorp is collaborating with key industry players to address institutions (HEIs) with indus- among other things. They operate off erings. the skills mismatch between new graduates and employer expectations try’s evolving needs, some pro- in peer-to-peer environments and “All undergraduate curricula gress is being achieved through are disruptive. have been reviewed in the last few MOHE’s eff orts. In this milieu, high school years with input from industry,” “To align the skills imparted in community should be part of the Early this year, the ministry teaching will not be by subject deputy vice-chancellor (academ- universities with those required university. There needs to be a formed a task force to ensure that but by global problems, Sohail ic and international) Datuk Prof by employers, TalentCorp is cur- sense of belonging, if not people academic programmes off ered are says. That would include design Awang Bulgiba Awang Mahmud rently working with the Ministry will not care about the fate of the relevant. A preliminary fi nding is thinking, futures thinking, ethics, tells The Edge in an email. of Higher Education (MOHE) to university.” that about 20% of programmes in confl ict resolution and meditation. “UM has made it mandato- review and improve the course Former Universiti Malaya public HEIs need to be updated, “Teaching training should be ry for external assessors from content of universities. Talent- vice-chancellor Tan Sri Ghauth replaced or stopped, the ministry adapted to prepare for a world af- abroad to review the curricula of Corp is also working closely with Jasmon favours an entrepreneur- said in an email to The Edge. ter jobs,” Sohail adds. all programmes. Because curricula key industry players through our ial approach. Throwing light on the system- Mindful of the growing storm, change at such a rapid pace, UM is Industry-Academia Collaboration “Teaching staff and even stu- ic dimension of the problem, for- the task force set up by the De- now embarking on new approach- to drive greater teamwork and dents should be encouraged and mer deputy education minister partment of Higher Education to es to designing programmes and address the skills mismatch be- incentivised to innovate, either by Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah advo- align the education system with curricula. tween new graduates and indus- sharing the research work or prof- cates a “total education reform” the emerging trends of the Fourth “We have terminated a num- try expectations,” she says in an iting from it. It is crucial to incul- at all levels. Industrial Revolution has identi- ber of programmes that are no email interview. cate an entrepreneurial mindset “Universities must profess fi ed 14 criteria to bring academic longer deemed competitive and While there is no quick fi x for in the faculty besides their con- and practise genuine knowledge off erings in line with Education relevant. We have also put more the issue, the focus must be on ventional teaching role,” he says. culture, academic freedom and 4.0, as it calls the next evolution emphasis on soft skills training, reskilling and upskilling, as well Ghauth currently sits on the embrace a new governance that of learning. funded student participation in as collective action involving all boards of Sunway University and emphasises partnership with all The Higher Education 4.0 competitions and got students stakeholders, she adds. the International University of stakeholders (management, lec- Framework being prepared by the to spend time abroad on student Malaysian Employers Feder- Malaya-Wales. turers, alumni and students),” he department will be launched early mobility programmes. This will ation executive director Datuk One person who wears two hats says in an email interview. this year, says Higher Education add to their exposure to diff erent Shamsuddin Bardan feels that — in industry and academia — is While the partnership between Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh. cultures.” universities need to adopt a cul- DC & A Group managing director industry and academia is a vital All indications are that the new Active engagement between ture of community-focus in part- Datuk David Chua Kok Tee. He piece of the jigsaw, it must be well paradigm will be shaped by the industry and academia is a fa- nership with industry. gives the business perspective of designed if the alliance is to bear waves of digital transformation vourite proposal among the key “Why don’t universities work the challenges of hiring talent. fruit, says Penang Institute in that have given rise to new glob- informants who spoke to The Edge. with the industries around them “Real-life application of Kuala Lumpur general manager al leaders like Airbnb, Uber and Talent Corp Malaysia Bhd CEO so that they become part of the knowledge is important. Good Dr Ong Kian Ming. Netfl ix that have upended entire Shareen Shariza Abdul Ghani community?” he asks. industrial training programmes “Clear output from industry-ac- industries. highlights a slew of initiatives “Enterprises can benefit too must be developed to bridge the ademia collaboration that results At any rate, it will not be long that her agency has taken togeth- by looking for talent in the uni- skills gap that is making it diffi- in win-win outcomes is needed for before we can tell how the next er with stakeholders to address versities. I think that is a system cult to run businesses. Emphasis it to work in Malaysia,” he says generation will fare in this new, this issue. that can be explored further. The should be placed on entrepre- in an email. unfamiliar world. E MALAYSIA FEBRUARY 19, 2018 corporate 55

Putting varsities to the Take politics out market test of education

To turn anaemic universities indifferent to fundraising but It sounds ironic coming from a into dynamic hubs of innovation, getting their members to political leader, but there it is: academic research must approve proposals is also a The most crucial step to turn be routinely tested in the mammoth undertaking. Malaysia’s education system marketplace. “If you have an idea, you will around is to minimise political This is one of three need to present it to the board. control over it. turnaround proposals by But it’s like moving an elephant. In most developed countries, former Universiti Malaya The idea will move very slowly says DAP parliamentary vice-chancellor Tan Sri Ghauth and this is the biggest stumbling spokesman for education, Jasmon for ensuring that higher block for improvement,” says science and technology Zairil Khir education institutions remain Ghauth. Johari, the education portfolio viable in the era of disruptive In the light of reduced is confined to policy debates in change. government budget allocation parliament, allocation of funding “Universities should to public universities in recent and oversight matters. commercialise their research. Ghauth: Universities should years, he stresses the need for “Their education boards are Zairil: Education must be They need to know how to turn commercialise their research. universities to know how to raise autonomous, self-regulating decentralised. Certain aspects the research into products. Th e research is good, yet it’s not funds in various ways. institutions that are governed by of the system should be left to The research is good, yet it’s enough. Lessons may also be taken the experts. They set their own those who would know the actual not enough. They need to take from private institutions abroad, standards and are judged by how circumstances better. one more step,” says Ghauth, which have taken to increasing well they maintain the quality of who now sits on the boards members must be given their asset base. education,” he tells The Edge. of Sunway University and fundraising targets to build the “Universities need to In contrast, Malaysia has one of teacher training has become International University of resources of their institutions. think about how to grow of the most centralised education employment-centric, which he Malaya-Wales. “I believe the board their endowment. But no one systems in the world, Zairil points opines is bad policy. Many US universities, for members must be given KPIs is talking about it here. For out, stressing that this must “Education policies need example, appoint teaching (key performance indicators). example, Harvard, which has the change if the country wants to to better reflect 21st century staff as adjunct professors, You must set targets. Pay them biggest endowment allocation move forward. learning. The policies today were paying them a salary for part well so they will be given good (currently US$37 billion), will “Education must be designed back then for a 20th of the year. Academicians are incentives to raise funds,” says be able to survive forever,” says decentralised. Certain aspects century economy,” he says. expected to generate their own Ghauth. Ghauth. of the system should be left to “The country realises that a income the rest of the time. Business development Of the public universities those who would know the actual skills economy is important, so Malaysian universities must is urgently needed by in Malaysia, Universiti Malaya circumstances better,” he says. the government must push for be liberalised so that they can universities, but this is far from had the largest endowment These include the community or TVET to be taught from young, adopt innovative teaching the board members’ minds, he of RM1.6 billion as at August independent educational bodies. and continue to promote it as a arrangements, Ghauth tells The says. 2017, followed by Universiti “Let the school board viable option for employment,” Edge. The boards are filled with Kebangsaan Malaysia with RM71 respond to the community. Let he says, highlighting the key role This is necessary to academic professors and they million, according to the Higher them choose the medium of of technical vocational education produce graduates with an may not necessarily have the Education Ministry. instruction, set the curriculum, and training in the development entrepreneurial mindset who right business experience, he Of the 20 public universities set the standards and so on. of the economy. are able to think outside the box adds. “Most of those appointed in the country, a total of RM1.85 That’s the way to ensure While serious efforts are and know how to use their skills, are usually professors and billion in endowment has been excellence,” he asserts. being made to mainstream TVET he says. “Malaysian universities they don’t have the experience collected so far. Another key area that is programmes, the sixty-four are not on par with international in raising money for the “If you look at foreign calling for attention is the quality thousand dollar question hangs universities in terms of university. They are good at institutions, they have quietly of teaching. on Zairil’s first premise — will the producing entrepreneurial teaching but not managing a purchased land in various “Teaching quality in particular politicians leave educationists graduates. We need to force business.” places. How many state needs to be relooked at as it has to do what’s best for the people to think out of the box.” Currently, not only are universities here have done an impact on student outcomes,” community, and therefore, the Secondly, university board public university boards that?” asks Ghauth. says Zairil. Moreover, the focus country?

Learning to learn all life long

Ready or not, people today must work arrangements. A worldwide few years off and learnt how to be available to them,” he points out. be prepared for constant, lifelong phenomenon, it is being driven a sushi chef. To me, that is what it Estonia and Singapore are reskilling and upskilling. by the outstanding growth of means to pursue lifelong learning among the countries that have This need is being driven by two digitally enabled platforms that — being able to reskill oneself amid taken big strides in adopting trends arising from the advance of help commercialise personal changing conditions,” says Ng. lifelong learning policies. technology — the changing global assets like cars and rooms and To him, this example is “For example, Singapore has a economy and our development offer on-demand labour for a metaphor for the current programme called Skills Future, policies — according to a Khazanah everything from food delivery to changing landscape of work, which provides locals with online Research Institute report titled “An mobile app design, says Ng. given the rise of digitalisation token credits to pursue courses Uneven Future? An Exploration of To cope with this dual thrust, across multiple sectors. on its website,” says Ng. the Future of Work in Malaysia”. says the report, Malaysia must To ensure that no one is Another leader is Finland, The first trend is job deeply inculcate a culture of true left out of the cycle of renewal, which has a long history of polarisation, writes KRI lifelong education for all, in which access to lifelong education must promoting adult education, director of research Allen Ng, formal learning is not limited to be made available to everyone in Former education minister and who co-authored the report. just the first two decades of life. To ensure no one is left out of the Malaysia, says Ng. Unfortunately, current director-general of the With the automation of semi- Speaking to The Edge, Ng cycle of renewal, access to lifelong current lifelong learning Finnish National Agency for skilled routine tasks, there are narrates the example of his late education must be made available platforms such as Malaysia’s Education, Olli-Pekka Heinonen, simultaneous gains in high-skill, father, who found himself in a to everyone in Malaysia, says Ng massive open online courses tells The Edge. high-wage jobs on one end and mid-career change at a time of do not reach out to the wider About half of its population of low-skill, low-wage jobs on the economic uncertainty. society. 5.5 million is engaged in lifelong other. Meanwhile, middle-skill, Running an intercity taxi old trunk road. When the North- “These systems are easy learning programmes at any one middle-wage jobs are vanishing. service over three decades ago, South Expressway was opened in to access for people who don’t time, he adds. The second trend is the rapid Ng’s father ferried passengers the 1980s, business dried up. really need this kind of reskilling, Malaysia has no time to lose to rise of independent, alternative between Bidor and Ipoh using the “My father decided to take a but for those who do, it’s not as set its people along that path. 56 corporate MALAYSIA FEBRUARY 19, 2018 SPECIAL REPORT

National plan of action to bring higher education system up to speed

FROM PAGE 53 TABLE 2 CRITICAL OCCUPATIONS LIST REPORT 2016/17 TABLE 3 CRITICAL OCCUPATIONS LIST REPORT 2016/17 In an article on youth unem- Measures to address diffi culties in hiring Reasons for diffi culty in hiring for ployment, the report summarises the multiple dimensions of the for critical occupations critical occupations problem. SECTORS EXPANDING RAISING EXPANDING INCREASING SECTORS COMPANY IS APPLICANTS APPLICANTS DID APPLICANTS DID “Despite the workforce increas- LOCAL WAGES INTERNATIONAL WORKER UNABLE TO DID NOT NOT HAVE NOT POSSESS RECRUITMENT (%) RECRUITMENT TRAINING MEET THE HAVE SUFFICIENT REQUIRED SOFT ingly becoming more educated, job EFFORTS EFFORTS (%) SALARY/ SUFFICIENT TECHNICAL SKILLS (E.G. (%) (%) BENEFITS WORK SKILLS CREATIVITY, creation in the Malaysian economy REQUESTED EXPERIENCE (%) COMMUNICATION) has remained concentrated in the Aerospace 61 52 43 48 (%) (%) (%) low and mid-skilled jobs, as do- Aerospace 43 57 70 17 mestic industries stay in low val- Business 67 33 44 22 ue-added activities that emphasise services Business 22 67 33 44 cost effi ciency and dependence on Education 50 42 42 17 services cheap labour, rather than pursuing Education 42 58 42 33 innovation as a source of growth,” E&E 73 44 54 33 it states. Financial 66 46 36 28 E&E 48 69 67 48 “The Malaysian economy also services Financial 43 57 57 21 continues to face the challenge services of attracting high-quality invest- Medical devices 52 20 8 32 ments that would create more ICT 33 27 53 20 Medical devices 52 72 68 56 high-paying, high-skilled jobs for ICT 40 47 60 33 the local workforce. In the mean- Oil, gas & 55 48 45 30 time, fi rms point to skills shortage energy Oil, gas & 34 82 68 11 as a key factor that prevents them Telecoms and 22 48 9 22 energy (inch from making investments to move multimedia Petrochemicals) up the value chain. Telecoms and 30 65 35 39 “This mismatch between the multimedia changes in educational attainment of the workforce and the types of jobs created is also manifested to some extent in anaemic demand ods and educational syllabus must vironment, he presents a compel- for fresh graduates, as online job be realigned so that we can accel- ling case for fostering innovation postings for entry-level positions erate education reform towards in the education system. for graduates have remained large- building 21st century skills,” she “Teaching training should be ly stagnant since 2012.” tells The Edge in an email. adapted to prepare for a world af- The article cites a 2014 survey “Educators and syllabus de- ter jobs,” he tells The Edge. by the World Bank and TalentCorp, signers must recognise that to- In this scenario, lifelong learn- which found that 90% of compa- day’s skills, with their short and ing is not a fancy idea but a critical nies believe that university grad- decreasing shelf lives, are quickly requirement for adapting to the uates should have more industrial becoming obsolete.” new economic reality. training, and 81% of companies Reformists often say the edu- For example, in Finland, a world rated communication skills as a cation system is the root of the leader in education, some 2.5 mil- major defi cit among graduates. problem. lion of its 5.5 million people are While businesses point to weak- Saifuddin: For engineering, Heinonen: We know the people For the DAP’s parliamentary engaged in lifelong education pro- nesses in the national education architecture and accounting, the who best cope with uncertainty are spokesperson for education, science grammes at any given time. and technical and vocational ed- number of lecturers who are creative people. Th ey are versatile in and technology, Zairil Khir Johari, Finland’s former education ucation and training (TVET) sys- chartered professionals is very low diff erent circumstances. the required shift in strategy will minister and current direc- tems for the poor job prospects of make our education system very tor-general of the Finnish Na- graduates, the article notes, the diff erent from its current form. tional Agency for Education, Ol- lack of industry involvement in links, online learning and delivery. Saifuddin, in an email response, The key is to depoliticise educa- li-Pekka Heinonen, says, “We human capital development has By the ministry’s reckoning, notes that these disciplines require tion and let academic boards inde- don’t know much about the fu- also contributed to the dearth of important progress is being made several years of understudy with a pendently set standards and han- ture. We know the people who eff ective training programmes for towards addressing the skills mis- supervisor and certifi cation by an dle administration in response to best cope with uncertainty are workers. match. accreditation body. community needs, he tells The Edge. creative people. They are versa- “The same TalentCorp sur- “Between 2007 and 2015, MOHE “For law, it is not an issue. But Penang Institute in Kuala Lum- tile in diff erent circumstances.” vey found that 53% of fi rms have was guided by the National Higher for engineering, architecture and pur general manager Dr Ong Kian In a report entitled An Uneven never engaged career centres in Education Strategic Plan, in which accounting, the number of lectur- Ming, a vocal advocate for academic Future? An Exploration of the Future their recruitment efforts. Thus, Improving Graduate Employabili- ers who are chartered professionals quality, says the issue boils down of Work in Malaysia, Khazanah Re- even though youth may lack req- ty (GE) was a part,” says Idris. “The is actually very low. So, what do you to the question of employability. search Institute director of re- uisite skills, eff ective, meaningful GE rate in Malaysia increased 2.9% expect from the graduates?” asks “The fi rst part of the challenge is search Allen Ng notes that as the training programmes that would from 74.4% in 2012 to 77.3% in 2016.” Saifuddin, who is chief secretary what needs to change in order that landscape of employment changes prepare them for work have also However, business leaders, such of the Pakatan Harapan coalition. educational institutions produce over the coming decades, incul- not been forthcoming,” the Bank as property developer Datuk David Former Univerisiti Malaya graduates who meet a minimum cating lifelong learning for all is Negara report states. Chua Kok Tee, who has served on vice-chancellor Tan Sri Ghauth bar of being employable — being essential to ponder, given two im- several national committees and Jasmon opines that the time to able to communicate clearly, show portant trends. Malaysia Education Blueprint academic boards, say the problem administer strong medicine is a basic understanding of concepts “Firstly, the fast pace of progress (Higher Education) remains entrenched. past due. and how to apply them to the real in technology would most likely Cognisant of the situation, the “It is diffi cult to recruit good Noting that both public and world, an ability to absorb and pro- lead to more rapid cycles of obso- MOHE has been developing a na- quality graduates as many either private HEIs are facing a fi nan- cess information in the workplace, lescence and renewal in the types tional plan of action to bring the don’t speak good English or don’t cial crunch, Ghauth, who is on the and an ability to write and produce of work and industries available. higher education system up to have the right skills for the job. boards of Sunway University and output that is understandable,” Secondly, together with the fi rst speed. They are hired anyway and then the International University of says Ong, who is MP for Serdang. trend, with the rise of independ- A key step forward is the Malay- retrained,” Chua tells The Edge. Malaya-Wales, stresses that uni- To add to the pressures facing ent work, the traditional employ- sia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 Former deputy education min- versities must address this pre- businesses, global developments, er-employee relationship could be (Higher Education), which outlines ister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah dicament or perish. including the impact of the Fourth eroded, which would simultane- 10 shifts that are designed to trans- identifi es distinct factors behind “It will be diffi cult for univer- Industrial Revolution, are rapidly ously provide greater autonomy to form the higher education system. the two types of skills gaps. sities to survive if they do not fi nd changing the rules of the game. workers but remove the stability Four of them focus on outcomes Concerning the lack of soft ways to sustain fi nancially, espe- One expert who is helping the of more traditional full-time fi xed for key stakeholders, namely stu- skills, he argues that despite some cially as the government cuts the Ministry of Higher Education to employment,” he says. dents in academic and TVET path- eff ort to address the gap, there is budget for higher education,” he prepare for this shift is Austral- All said, the range of challenges ways, the academic community no comprehensive and integrated tells The Edge. ia-based Prof Sohail Inayatul- adds up to quite a formidable test and people engaging in lifelong approach to the problem. TalentCorp CEO Shareen Shariza lah, the Unesco Chair in Futures of our resilience as an economy. learning. The other six concern As for the skills shortfall in pro- Abdul Ghani sees the need for a Studies. Can academia and industry forge enablers such as funding, govern- fessional fi elds like law, engineer- systemic overhaul. Tracing various scenarios that a dynamic partnership to respond ance, innovation, international ing, architecture and accounting, “Our traditional teaching meth- emerge in an evolving learning en- to this critical task? E