Youngsters must change their mindset
Monday, March 12, 2007
A VERY significant information came out during Saturday's Labour Department's Career Seminar and Exhibition 2007, where Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Awang Adanan BPSK Dato Seri Setia Awang Md Yusof, the Minister of Home Affairs said the country has roughly 98,000 foreign workers and at the same time there are 6,644 jobseekers that are registered with the Labour Department, with more than a third or 38 per cent having a minimum qualification of Form Five, and another third or 32 per cent have reached only Form One or Two.
The figures given out by the minister sounds strange and he himself admitted the concern over such a large number of "educated unemployed". The reason he gave for this phenomenon was that youngsters are very choosy when it comes to opting for jobs.
The minister said His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has made it clear that jobseekers should not be too choosy. It cannot be denied that at present, job opportunities in the government sector are limited. Jobseekers have to change their attitudes and not always depend on the government for job opportunities.
In this context, the young people must realise two things.
First, all over the world, countries which have a large foreign workforce are taking steps to reduce their dependence on it because one cannot depend on them forever. Of course, in some areas the foreign workforce is needed because of its expertise but efforts should be made to replace it with the local workforce for it is the locals who are the future of the country and ultimately they will have to take the responsibility of shaping the nation's destiny.
Secondly, the government's options in creating jobs are limited as mentioned by the minister. But the good thing is that in these times of globalisation, the private sector is mushrooming at break-neck speed and with it offering many very good alternative avenues for the youngsters.
The important thing to remember for the jobseekers registered with the Labour Department is that their waiting game is adversely affecting them - both financially and professionally.
Any qualified young man or woman sitting idly at home must realise that by being choosy and selective he or she is wasting precious years of his or her youth which can bring him or her both financial and professional rewards.
The amount of money the government and parents had invested in education is going to waste. The money spent on education is an investment for the future and after completing the education, it is time for the young man or woman to repay by being productive and thus adding to the nation's development.
It hurts professionally also. Imagine, if two people graduated at the same time and one gets the job immediately and the other one after two years. This means that the person who got the job after two years will always remain behind his friend as far as his career graph and professional expertise are concerned. Also being jobless can hurt one's self-esteem and can lead to frustration.
So as the minister said, the youngsters must change their mindset and look out for job avenues outside the government sector. Remember, in the long run it is your competence and professional expertise which will move your career graph up. It does not matter whether you are in the government sector or private sector. Besides, the private sector offers more challenges and youngsters should not shy away from challenges. In fact, they should always be ready for new challenges in life as it gives one the chance of enhancing one's potential and opens up new frontiers. The youngsters must remember that a nation prospers and develops through contributions made by each and every single member of the society, whether you are in the government sector or private sector.
On the other side of this debate, it is perhaps prudent as well to not blame the unemployed totally for simply being choosy for that may be a superficial assessment of a rather complex situation. The government sector has to take the effort to identify the cause or causes of choosiness and address them effectively. One such cause could be the delays in the government sector making payments to businesses for services rendered, resulting in various undesirable effects that make working or venturing into the private sector very unattractive indeed. Address such causes effectively and come up with more innovative policies and schemes quickly to turn the private sector more vibrant, and that should make it more attractive to the unemployed.
Tuning the oft-repeated sound that it is the unemployed that is to be blamed because of being choosy would not resolve the evolving chronic problem.
The figures given out by the minister sounds strange and he himself admitted the concern over such a large number of "educated unemployed". The reason he gave for this phenomenon was that youngsters are very choosy when it comes to opting for jobs.
The minister said His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has made it clear that jobseekers should not be too choosy. It cannot be denied that at present, job opportunities in the government sector are limited. Jobseekers have to change their attitudes and not always depend on the government for job opportunities.
In this context, the young people must realise two things.
First, all over the world, countries which have a large foreign workforce are taking steps to reduce their dependence on it because one cannot depend on them forever. Of course, in some areas the foreign workforce is needed because of its expertise but efforts should be made to replace it with the local workforce for it is the locals who are the future of the country and ultimately they will have to take the responsibility of shaping the nation's destiny.
Secondly, the government's options in creating jobs are limited as mentioned by the minister. But the good thing is that in these times of globalisation, the private sector is mushrooming at break-neck speed and with it offering many very good alternative avenues for the youngsters.
The important thing to remember for the jobseekers registered with the Labour Department is that their waiting game is adversely affecting them - both financially and professionally.
Any qualified young man or woman sitting idly at home must realise that by being choosy and selective he or she is wasting precious years of his or her youth which can bring him or her both financial and professional rewards.
The amount of money the government and parents had invested in education is going to waste. The money spent on education is an investment for the future and after completing the education, it is time for the young man or woman to repay by being productive and thus adding to the nation's development.
It hurts professionally also. Imagine, if two people graduated at the same time and one gets the job immediately and the other one after two years. This means that the person who got the job after two years will always remain behind his friend as far as his career graph and professional expertise are concerned. Also being jobless can hurt one's self-esteem and can lead to frustration.
So as the minister said, the youngsters must change their mindset and look out for job avenues outside the government sector. Remember, in the long run it is your competence and professional expertise which will move your career graph up. It does not matter whether you are in the government sector or private sector. Besides, the private sector offers more challenges and youngsters should not shy away from challenges. In fact, they should always be ready for new challenges in life as it gives one the chance of enhancing one's potential and opens up new frontiers. The youngsters must remember that a nation prospers and develops through contributions made by each and every single member of the society, whether you are in the government sector or private sector.
On the other side of this debate, it is perhaps prudent as well to not blame the unemployed totally for simply being choosy for that may be a superficial assessment of a rather complex situation. The government sector has to take the effort to identify the cause or causes of choosiness and address them effectively. One such cause could be the delays in the government sector making payments to businesses for services rendered, resulting in various undesirable effects that make working or venturing into the private sector very unattractive indeed. Address such causes effectively and come up with more innovative policies and schemes quickly to turn the private sector more vibrant, and that should make it more attractive to the unemployed.
Tuning the oft-repeated sound that it is the unemployed that is to be blamed because of being choosy would not resolve the evolving chronic problem.
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