PETALING JAYA: Universities can no longer rely on classroom theory alone as industries move faster than many academic systems can keep up with, says Berjaya University College acting chief executive Asst Prof Aw Yoke Cheng.
Aw said employers should play a direct role in shaping university curriculum so graduates are better prepared for the realities of work.
“Employers need to be sitting at the table when curriculum is being designed,” he said during the university’s convocation ceremony on May 17.
Aw said many employers still found fresh graduates lacking practical exposure, decision-making ability and adaptability despite holding academic qualifications.
“Jobstreet’s research points to a misalignment that comes down to limited industry exposure during study, graduates who know the theory but have never had to make a real decision with real consequences,” he said.
He said the gap between graduates and industry expectations remained wide and that industry cannot just be a “guest speaker at the end of a semester”.
At present, challenges related to artificial intelligence and automation continue to shape the job market.
TalentCorp has estimated that about 620,000 jobs, or 18% of the formal sector, will be disrupted by AI within the next three to five years.
“Many of today’s graduates will enter a market that barely resembles what they prepared for,” Aw said.
He said recent disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this year showed how quickly global events could affect businesses, hiring and investment decisions.
“When oil prices spike, when supply chains tighten overnight, businesses react immediately. Hiring slows, costs rise and investment plans change,” he said.
“The graduates I worry about most are not the ones who lack talent. They’re the ones who think a degree is the finish line, because in this environment, the moment you stop learning, you start losing ground.”
During the convocation ceremony, Aw told graduates that employers were now looking beyond technical qualifications.
“Honestly, if you ask most employers, they will tell you the thing they struggle most to find in fresh graduates is not technical skill, it’s character under pressure,” he said.
A 2025 Malaysian study found that communication, teamwork and adaptability accounted for nearly half of the variation in graduate employability.
“What employers really want is someone who can stay calm when the plan falls apart, who treats the people around them with respect even when things are hard, and who has the humility to say, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out,’ rather than bluffing their way through.”
Aw also urged graduates to continue learning after university instead of treating a degree as the end of their education.
“The moment you stop learning, you start losing ground,” he said.
Carolyn Khor (carolynkhor@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.