KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian education system should be restructured to focus on “career-ready” students to overcome the country’s unemployment problem, says Wisdom Foundation, a Sabah-based think-tank.

       “One of the underlying causes of unemployment is the Malaysian education system which prioritises academic achievements as opposed to ensuring career-ready students,” says Wisdom Foundation chairman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau.

       He said based on Statistics Department figures, there were 728,100 unemployed individuals in the country as of May 2021. “Of this number, 328,100 are youths.

       “In this situation, 580,000 businesses, of which 49% are from the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, are at risk of closing down by October this year.

       “Instead of fully utilising the Malaysian labour force for work demands, Malaysia has a high dependency on foreign workers for low-skilled jobs which reduces opportunities for youths with no tertiary education,” he said.

       Although the number of fresh graduates had increased from 300,000 to 350,000, Madius said high-skilled jobs were lacking with many applicants rejected for being overqualified.

       He said the Federal Government must restructure the education system to ensure youths were capable of maintaining a livelihood.