Top jobs only for those who know the language well

Petaling Jaya (The Star/ANN) - It does not matter if you are top of your class or have a string of degrees, that dream job will not be yours unless you can speak and write well in English.

Feedback from local and international employers shows that verbal and written communication skills in English remain the most sought-after attribute in prospective employees.

According to a recent Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) survey, it is the most important trait employers look for when recruiting graduates.

The MEF Salary Survey for Executives 2010 revealed that 68% of the companies surveyed named communication skills as the top quality required in job applicants, followed by working experience (67%), interpersonal skills (56.2%) and passion and commitment (55.7%).

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said globalisation had changed the nature of jobs, making communication skills, specifically in English, a valuable asset for today's worker.

He added that this was an essential criterion even for professions traditionally seen as backroom staff such as engineers, technical personnel and scientists. It is especially so for those working in multinationals and bigger firms," he said.

Today, our clients are worldwide. In factories, for instance, engineers are a different breed from the past," said Shamsuddin.

Now, they have to be involved in various aspects of business and interact with clients."

Shamsuddin expressed concern that many local graduates today could not speak or write proper English, saying this was a reason why they faced difficulties getting jobs in the private sector.

Kelly Services (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Melissa Norman concurred, noting that six in 10 graduates who attended its interviews could not communicate effectively in English.

The company is one of the top headhunters in the country.

Norman said it was important to master English as it was widely used among the business community, both in Malaysia and internationally.

The Kelly Global Workforce Index survey released in 2010 listed communication skills as one of the top five most desired skills within the corporate sector.

We have encountered local graduates who are weak in spoken and written English and have limited vocabulary," said Norman.

These candidates can only manage to secure jobs in small-medium enterprises and small businesses."

Various industry and business leaders also warned that the decline in English was affecting Malaysia's global competitiveness.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers President Tan Sri Mustafa Mansur said the young ones who could not communicate in English were unable to negotiate the best deals in business transactions or investments.

We need to send people out to market our products, negotiate deals or get contracts signed. If they cannot communicate well in English, we will lose out," he said.

Pemudah co-chair Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon pointed out that, contrary to popular belief, it was important for civil servants to have a good command of English due to a growing borderless world.

The standard of English also affects the quality of the public sector as civil servants have to interact with international citizens and the business world as well as articulate Malaysia's stand on issues to the international community. These include negotiations on important agreements such as trade agreements."

Noting that the quality of English in the country had declined over the last two decades, former Human Resource Minister Tan Sri Fong Chan Onn warned that the country would lose out to its neighbours that did not teach English in schools previously.

Thailand, Indonesia and China are making efforts to improve their English through their education system," he noted.

Article Source: Yahoo News

In my previous entry about Malaysia being the no.1 in English in Asia I forgot to mention about above fact which is 100% true and should be taken seriously by all Malaysian if they want to be competitive in international career market or least in Malaysia itself.

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However I do not agree about the statement that only bigger company take note about the importance of English proficiency since nowadays smaller company/business also put their preference over the worker with excellent English as well.

By the way, there is no easy way to learn English but to put behind our own ashamed feeling and uncertainty and just do it despite of what other people thinks. For a start ( hahahaha, based on my own experience ) maybe you should write in English. Notes, diary, recipes, memos or whatever you want to write, just write it in English. Then, you should start speaking the language to accustom yourself with it. You might find it a bit difficult to pronounce certain words but feel free to ask people and DON'T ever feel ashamed if you speak it in wrong way. 

I still remembered my experience over my public speaking during my English class ( matrix ), where I make lots of mistake and make myself look like a fool because some of my colleagues did laugh on me due to my poor English except for my fellow friend Joannie Jomitol, Marini Sulaiman, Falinah Misol & Ramansha. It's really embarrassing but I was grateful to that experience because it's showed how poor my verbal English and since then I start to improvise myself by speaking it on daily basis. Now, I can proudly say I am good in English though not as excellent as some people.

My job is not really a top job but I love my job. I hope my kids will have a better future, a better career and a better life than mine with all my effort with their education plus my strict implementation of English language in their daily life.( Dusun language is one of their must language too. Mana boleh lupa bahasa turun temurun kan.. )