Business

Saturday April 4, 2009

Silver lining

By FINTAN NG


Even as some sectors are highly vulnerable to layoffs, others are still recruiting

IN Malaysia, the manufacturing sector is clearly the most vulnerable to lay offs. There is official data to prove that. According to Bank Negara’s latest data, the sector lost an estimated 11,000 jobs in 2008 while the services sector lost some 4,700 jobs, with nearly half stemming from wholesale and retail trade as well as the hospitality sector.

The main reason workers in the manufacturing sector are the worst hit is because it involves mostly export-reliant companies that are feeling the heat from the slump in external demand from Malaysia’s trading partners.

Melissa Norman ... It is imperative that the skills gap in the local workforce be addressed urgent.

Human resource consultants contend that the looming recession is a major challenge and has led to an erosion of business and consumer confidence, hence falling demand and investments which in turn has resulted in a shaky job market all over the world.

Going forward, there is fear that a prolonged slump globally may lead to more redundancies in the manufacturing sector. This will in turn have an impact on the services sector – one of the pillars of economic growth – which is reliant on domestic demand, manifesting in a fall in private consumption as consumers hold back on spending over heightened concerns over job security.

When did the turn happen? A consultant with a Singapore-based company says the job situation took a turn for the worst after the Chinese New Year in mid-January this year. She expects the situation to last till next year as employers may not be too quick to replace those who have retired or resigned, or renew contracts of temporary staff.

A bulk of the workforce that has been laid off involve the semi-skilled or unskilled. And so, it is critical that they be retrained or their skills upgraded to help them find employment. The Government has allocated RM700mil in the second stimulus package for 163,000 job placements and training opportunities. Part of this will be undertaken as joint collaboration with the private sector.

HRnet One Consulting Sdn Bhd senior regional consultant Lim Ai Chen says policymakers need to provide access to information on how the funds can be utilised and set up a tracking mechanism for job creation.

Still, there is hope as there are several key industries which are continuing to recruit. Sales, for one, which is the lifeblood of companies, big and small.

A quick glimpse through the classified sections of newspapers and Internet job sites reveal that certain industries namely the education, healthcare, oil and gas, information and communication technology are still hiring.

In addition, bear in mind that cost-conscious multinational companies may outsource some services to more cost-effective countries like Malaysia, where the infrastructure is already in place.

Manpower Staffing Services (M) Sdn Bhd country manager Sam Haggag observes that there has been a significant reduction in senior executive-level positions while general positions requiring one to three years experience particularly in the services sector continue to grow.

According to Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd vice-president and country general manager Melissa Norman, another challenging issue is the mismatch of skill sets: “It is imperative that the skills gap in the local workforce be addressed urgently.”

Norman says certain specialist skills are still in demand despite the downturn and the industries with better job prospects include healthcare and life sciences, biotechnology, Islamic banking and finance, call centre and accounting fields.

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