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Hock-Eam Lim*
Universiti Utara Malaysia
Muszafarshah Mohd Mustafa
Universiti Utara Malaysia
* Corresponding Author: Hock-Eam Lim, College of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, 06010 Kedah, Malaysia. Email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Mismatch of skills, in particular generic skills, has been suggested as one of the potential causes of the graduate unemployment problem in Malaysia. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of industrial training (also known as practicum or internship) in solving this problem. Results of descriptive statistics show that industrial training is effective in increasing a student's generic skills and English language proficiency. In particular, industrial training improves the communication skills and spoken English proficiency. Relatively, industrial training at GLC is more effective in improving communication, creative and analytical, time and group management skills. On the other hand, industrial training at the government department and private company are more effective in improving one's English language proficiency. The estimated regression models suggest that the determinants of effectiveness of industrial training are level of the related generic skills before attending industrial training, English language proficiency, academic achievement and gender.
Keywords: Industrial Training; Generic Skills; Mismatch Skills; Graduate Unemployment.
1. INTRODUCTION
The financial crisis of 1997 that was experienced by Malaysia, together with the liberalization of the universities' education sector (which increase the enrollment of university students substantially) since 1996, has led to a drastic change in demand and supply of graduate in the Malaysian labor market. Subsequently, this embeds a profound effect on the number of graduate's entry-level job opportunities and tightening of the hiring procedures for fresh graduates.
From the perspective of a graduate, this implies a highly competitive and selective job market. A piece of paper (degree scroll) will no longer ensure a graduate entry-level job. Instead, it is the skills that the graduate possessed that will determine the graduate's performance in the labor market. Indeed, empirically, skills mismatch has been quoted as one of the potential determinants of graduate unemployment in Malaysia (Lim and Normizan, 2004; Morshidi et al., 2004; Lim, 2007; Lim, 2010; Lim, 2011).
The university sector has been urged to understand the needs of industry when considering their courses and enrollments (The Star, 2004a). The softskills of local university graduates, such as their communication skills, are deficient: the head...