Hiring trends have changed, says Talisman
Published on: Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: For decades now, workers only have to apply within their place of domicile to get a job, but the trend is now changing. Employers are now willing to tap into skilled workers, even if they are outside the country where they are operating. According to Talisman Malaysia Human Resource and Offices Manager Johan Moktar the days of workers joining a good company and working until they retire are now gone. ADVERTISEMENT "What companies do now is they recognise skills… because we do need certain skills and develop them internally in some cases," he said. Johan said this after launching of the Seminar on Scholarship and Career in the Oil and Gas Industry for Universiti Malaysia Sabah's engineering students, here. For instance, Talisman Malaysia once known for its shallow water exploration has moved into deep water exploration the last five years and this forced them to source their specialists from outside the country, he said. ADVERTISEMENT "We do not have the skills internally," he pointed out. And this is in stark contrast to what happened in the past when a worker resigned from a company, they become convinced they could never work in the same company again, added Johan.
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"But now, companies also realise they can only provide opportunities to their workers up to a certain level," he said. He said one of the best thing to reach for a higher career goal is to venture out of the country and pick up a special skill set that could be useful for the development of the country in future. Johan said today plenty of Malaysians ventured out for work, some highly-skilled in the Middle East and the United Kingdom and this makes them "more valuable." "So if we can get Malaysians out there to come back, then we are happy. When we are happy our partner, Petronas is happy. "We would rather have Malaysians in our workforce than hire expatriates. So we can find the skills in the Malaysian workforce who may be outside the country," he said. The problem is not many Malaysians, especially young graduates are willing to venture abroad for work. "From my experience, it is an issue existing in many countries. But in Malaysia it is particularly strong, partly because of the culture," he said. However Johan said this all comes down to the individual, saying they need to be cognizant and be fully aware of the compromises they have to make on their careers. "I may want a career that allows me to reach a certain level and decide to do that I have to go outside Malaysia. "But what about the Nasi Lemak, where can I get it if I go out of the country. So you have to decide if the Nasi Lemak or keeping the family together is more important than your career, than you stay. "Perhaps the opportunity may not be as great here as they are outside. But you made an informed choice," he said. Being a human resource manager, Johan said the thing he resents the most is when job seekers complain they are not going anywhere with their careers when they decide to stay put in the country and be close to their families. It is understood Sabah requires a workforce of around 25,000 in the upstream and downstream oil and gas industries by 2020. This however depends on the growth of the industry, which is currently troubled by lower oil prices. According to Johan, although various oil companies have started trimming manpower, Talisman Malaysia are still set in keeping their skill based workers. Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Faculty of Engineering Dean Professor Dr Rosalam Sabartly said working mobility is one of the fundamental problems among graduates trying to land jobs in the oil and gas industry. He said it is wrong to have the impression that obtaining an engineering degree promises jobs, adding that qualification merely provides a "maturity" of thought in executing a job at hand. He said even developed nations like Japan where over 70 per cent of its people go to universities also faces unemployment problems. He said local graduates need a change of mindset and must be prepared to venture out of the country for experience. "We have to understand the fact that Sabahans, even if they are posted to the peninsula, also they complain. This is about their comfort zone. "If we compare with other countries where the job market is more competitive, their people are prepared to be more mobile and willing to work everywhere. "They know they could not do anything unless they venture out," he said. Furthermore the culture of the local community is also supporting this like the Bajau saying "Mangan ya Mangan, Asal Kurung Kurung" which roughly translated means "it's okay that we don't eat everywhere, as long as we stay together," he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"This mentality has to change. Making graduates mobile is one of the key challenges in education. "But education is still key and only through the same venue can Sabah overcome this challenge," he said.