Malaysia still faces ICT skills gap

By Edwin Yapp, ZDNet AsiaThursday, May 15, 2008 06:08 PM
KUALA LUMPUR--The demand for information and communications technology (ICT) jobs in Malaysia remains healthy, but graduates entering the workforce still lack certain fundamental skill sets, say industry players.
Albert Wong, chief product officer of online recruiter JobStreet.com, said there is increasing demand for IT staff from multinational corporations (MNCs), as well as local companies that are starting up their respective shared services and outsourcing (SSO) or IT centers in Malaysia.
"These companies are looking for quality fresh graduates or experienced people, and there is a shortage of supply compared to the demand," Wong told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview. "In terms of labor cost, Malaysia is quite competitive compared to other countries in the region."
Chai Cheng Sheng, IBM Malaysia's HR (human resource) director, said the IT job market has been very active in the past two to three years. Demand has been brisk particularly due to the setting up of regional technical support centers resulting from SSO initiatives by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).
"This has created a big market for IT related jobs," Chai said in an e-mail interview. "Even if the shared services set up are non-IT in nature, the centers would still need to rely on a robust IT infrastructure and a team to manage and support those functions."
Michael Meston, HR director for Intel Malaysia concurred, noting that there continue to be good job prospects in the science, technology and engineering sectors--a trend that bodes well for the country.
"Today's job seekers also realize that apart from good academic qualifications, other soft skills such as interpersonal skills, team spirit, time management, business etiquette and negotiation skills, are just as important in order to succeed [in their job]," said Meston, in an e-mail interview.
Challenges with graduates But, despite the strong demand for ICT-related skills and jobs, Jobstreet.com's Wong said there are gaps in skills needed for various technical areas. "Some candidates are just not good enough," he said.
"There are skill gaps which exist in technical areas. However, MNCs and larger companies are willing to train candidates as long as they are eager to learn," Wong said.
Also, there remains a big void in soft skills such as good communications and work attitude, which are difficult to deal with, he noted.
IBM's Chai added that besides the lack of soft skills such as the ability to communicate articulately and level of aptitude in the English language, fresh graduates in Malaysia today are not attuned to current market and business trends.
Learning about the latest technology, he noted, will not suffice if they do not know how to apply their knowledge in a practical working environment.
"Graduates need to know the current market trends and understand contemporary business needs," he explained. "The global society needs people who are equipped with deep analytical skills and have the ability to manage ambiguity."
Chai added that knowledge workers of the 21st century need cross-disciplinary programs and degrees in order to compete, but historically, universities have found it difficult to provide such programs.
In addition, he said, the industry cannot expect colleges and universities to make changes overnight. Success, Chai noted, demands open collaboration among academia, government and industry to transform the process of building this pipeline of skills.
Andre Sequerah, managing director of Aexio Technologies, said there has been a lot of emphasis on ICT in the last few years and this focus has attracted substantially more professionals to the field.
Also a co-founder of the company, which specializes in software for cellular network design, Sequerah noted that when Aexio first started in 2005, it received good response to its online recruitment ads for programmers.
"Since 2005, however, it has gotten more difficult to hire," he told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview. "But, it's not just a shortage of IT people; it's also about getting the right people."
Sequerah acknowledged that the Malaysian government's emphasis on the ICT has successfully attracted students to enroll in ICT courses, but he questioned whether these students are actually interested in the field itself.
"It seems that ICT is a good option [for students out of school] just because the government has been promoting it," he said.
Sequerah said this is further compounded by the fact that there is inadequate skills quality, and the industry will end up with a work force that needs retraining just to meet a minimum standard.
The problem, he suggested, needs to be tackled from all sectors: the individual, the universities and industry, alongside the government's current workforce programs.
"Individuals need greater exposure to what an ICT career really entails, and universities need to improve on the quality of their programs," he said.

Edwin Yapp is a freelance IT writer based in Malaysia.

references : Jobstreer.com http://blog.jobstreet.com/malaysia/

increase credibilty and confidence

EXECUTIVE presence may be hard to define, but most people know it when they see it.
Do you have it? If you think you don’t, or if you would like to increase your credibility and confidence, consider the following tips:
1 Your gestures can support or sabotage what you say
Gestures and mannerisms can either convince your audience of your sincerity or antagonise them. Imagine yourself in an airport, with conversations going on all around you, and you are engaged in a farewell to a friend.
All of a sudden, the man and woman next to you begin to wave their arms dramatically, their fingers urgently punching the air.
Immediately, your attention is diverted from your own conversation to this couple.
Why is it that their words do not distract you, but their gestures do? That is the power of gestures and mannerisms. Often, gestures speak louder than words.
You may be completely serious, passionate and confident about what you have to say, but your audience may perceive you as insincere because of poor eye contact, slouched posture, a bored expression or weak gestures.
2 Be conscious of what your body language says
Your upper-body posture is controlled primarily by what you do with your arms. Your posture and your gestures are difficult to separate. They make a total statement.
I work with many people who are completely unaware of their body language until they see themselves on video for the first time.
For example, some people stand with their head intensely protruding forward as if they are about to scold the audience.
Others stand in a slouched position as though they are exhausted from marching through the desert for days without rest.
Then there are those who hug, pat, and squeeze themselves when they speak.
Still others either stand rigid as if locked in a straitjacket or sway back and forth as if they are a shy teenager about to ask their first date to the prom.
Look at yourself in the mirror and see how it feels to stand with your arms relaxed loosely at your side or with your elbows slightly bent. It may feel awkward, but it does not look awkward.
Simply stand there, looking in the mirror, and get used to the various postures that both look and feel appropriate so that you do not feel awkward with that same natural posture, gesture or stance in front of a group.
3 Add volume to increase authority
In many societies, little girls are taught that loud voices are not feminine, whereas little boys learn no such inhibitions. As a result, women often have problems with speaking loudly enough.
In today’s business arena, wimpy voices get little attention.
Consider the extreme. When someone shouts, everyone turns to look — regardless of what is being said. Volume gets attention.
Remember that your voice always sounds louder to you than to anyone else. Take another person’s word for it when he says you need to speak up.
Also remember that your voice is an instrument. It needs to be warmed up, or it will creak and crack at the beginning of your presentation.
If you warm up with a high volume, as though projecting to those in the back row, your volume also will improve your vocal quality.
Volume adds energy to your voice — it has the power to command or lose listeners’ attention.
4 Lower pitch to increase credibility
Pitch, the measurement of the “highness” or “lowness” of your voice, is determined largely by the amount of tension in the vocal cords.
When you are under stress, you may sound high-pitched.
When you are relaxed and confident, you will have a naturally lower pitch.
Authoritative vocal tones are low and calm, not high and tense.
Inflection is a pitch change — from a “Stop!” screeched at an assailant to the haughty “Please stop!” directed at a stranger using your department’s photocopy machine.
You can lower your pitch to some degree by practising scales (as singers do, dropping the voice with each word) and by breathing more deeply to relax your vocal cords.
Remember that a lower pitch conveys power, authority and confidence, whereas a high pitch conveys insecurity and nervousness.
5 Identify weaknesses in your vocal quality
Vocal quality refers to characteristics such as a breathy sound, tense harshness, hoarseness, nasal tones or a deep, resonant, solemn sound.
Vocal quality is also measured by weaknesses such as slurring of words, over- or under-articulating certain sounds or accents, and so forth.
Being aware of these shortcomings can help you correct some of them. Others may require the help of a voice coach.
Pay attention to these tips as you prepare for your next presentation, and you will be on your way to becoming a speaker with a captive audience.
– Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network
Article by Dianna Booher, author of 40 books and chief executive officer of Booher Consultants, a communication training firm.
-->

reference: StarJob Online

Hire the right people

JOBS, just like unhappy marriages, can also end in “divorce”. If any “unhappily employed” people work for you, you know the problem is expensive to fix.
So, why don’t companies invest more to find and keep good employees? Proper recruiting and interviewing pays high dividends. A comprehensive hiring programme lets managers increase the depth of their talent pool and select the best.
To maximise your hiring results, you need to focus on who you really want. This includes a candidate’s job responsibilities and how he or she will complement your existing team and your vision and values. Once you have defined the position and appropriate qualities and skills, the search is on!
However, a frustrating aspect of the hiring process was best described by a manager who said: “I am supposed to find out everything about everyone, but I can’t ask them anything.”
Here is how to use some unorthodox methods to ease your frustration and increase your hiring percentage.
1 Recruiting strategy
The process starts with recruiting: always be on the lookout for talented people and use unconventional sources.
A discouraged restaurant owner approached me after a presentation and said: “I place want ads every week and can’t find dishwashers for my restaurants.”
We tried a different tactic — index cards were placed on bulletin boards in laundromats within walking distance to his restaurants. They were written in English, Spanish and Vietnamese with directions to his establishment. Four candidates showed up the next day — one with his own rubber gloves!
Today it takes tenacity, creativity and tweaking of your existing systems to find great employees.
2 The "knockout question
The next step is the interview. List targeted questions for the first and each subsequent interview to keep track of what you have asked. Assign different people to ask appropriate questions and cover salient issues as you dig deeper into the prospects’ qualifications at different phases of the interview.
One of your most powerful tools is the “knockout question”, designed to eliminate someone who can’t perform the job. I experienced this type of question once, ending an interview in five minutes.
After a couple of warm-up questions, the interviewer casually asked how I felt about heights. As my palms started to sweat, I asked her to explain. She said the position required meeting clients at the top of skyscrapers under construction — no windows, no walls!
“Thank you for your time,” I said, and I left! Why bother asking me about my greatest strength only to discover my fear of heights later?
Sometimes the candidate might lie just to get the job, hoping to change the conditions once hired. To eliminate this situation, you can fine-tune your knockout questions.
The interviewer asks: “Will you travel or work weekends?” The candidate’s response is, “Yes, or whatever it takes to get the job done.” But you really don’t know the truth.
Another way to craft the question is to describe the job and ask: “How much travel do you think would be needed for this job?” If the interviewee says: “Three days a month would be needed,” and the job requires travel three days a week, you have the wrong candidate.
3 The tested question
Another type of question is the “payoff” or “tested” question. A construction company that builds everything from corporate campuses to amusement park rides seems to have mastered this type of question.
When interviewing site managers, the company stresses client relations. In addition to functional qualifications and management responsibilities, the right person must liaise with Fortune 500 clients.
The interviewer simply says: “We believe in customer delight.” If candidates roll their eyes or flash a look that says: “This is one of those warm-and-fuzzy companies,” they just blew it!
The company discovered the statement by accident and finds that it is a better indicator than 100 questions about customer service.
Hiring great people is one of the most powerful yet overlooked retention tools. Good associates are exhilarated and eager to work with other good people. Involve your employees in the process, seek their advice, and watch your retention rates increase.
Remember, people judge you by the company you keep and your organisation judges you by the people you hire. Maybe hiring the right person is not as important as marrying the right one, but if you don’t, it can make for a miserable relationship.

– Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network
Article by Mike Hourigan, the author of Riding The Waves without Getting Wet. He delivers ideas on mastering change at the workplace to global executives

RESOURCES: STARJOBS ONLINE

Meeting with Librarian...

Had meeting with nice and calm person, Mrs Sue Baker(Salford Business School Liason in Salford Library) regarding how to search the abstract and indexing more effective and wisely.Thank you so much to my sv to told me about this.If not, I always couldn't found the most relevance when I'm do my searching, sometimes no fulltext for the paper at all. How frustrated I am when I found the best title but no softcopy there....Hopefully with the right techniques I will find more and more and more academic journals and academic papers regarding on my research....yearh I can do it.....Thank you Mrs Sue...