Billy Yumbod (second right) with Abdul Kadir (second left) visiting a booth at CAIREX 2014.
One of the 20 booths at CAIREX 2014.
KOTA KINABALU: Students in their final semester at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sabah were introduced to job opportunities in Sabah through the Career and Industrial Relations Expo 2014 (CAIREX).
The CAIREX programme, organised for the second time by UiTM in collaboration with JobsMalaysia at the UiTM campus yesterday, was officiated by Human Resource Development Department director Billy Yumbod who represented Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Siringan Gubat.
With the main objective to expose post-graduate students to career options in the state, the CAIREX also aims to provide a platform to widen opportunities related to the courses taken.
According to UiTM Sabah rector Datuk Dr Haji Abdul Kadir Rosline, the CAIREX this year was bigger and better than the one held last year.
He said CAIREX this year involved more participants from the private and public companies in the state tnat that last year, with 20 booths set up by different companies.
“I hope this programme will become bigger each year and involve more visitors from the public as it is very beneficial, especially to the fresh graduates,” he said.
Abdul Kadir told the Borneo Post that this year marked the 40th anniversary of UiTM Sabah, and plans were afoot for UiTM Sabah to have its first convocation ceremony in November, and to be combined with the Job Expo.
Since the early years of UiTM Sabah, its graduates have been conducting their convocation ceremony in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, thus making the convocation planned for this November the first UiTM Sabah convocation ceremony ever to be held in the state.
“I believe that this will help make the Job Expo even bigger as the convocation will be attended not only by the graduates, but with their family members as well.
“With plans to set up 100 booths, the Job Expo will have a perfect time as most of the fresh graduates will be looking for job opportunities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Siringan said in his speech which was delivered by Billy that based on statistics from the Public Services Commission, 100,824 people from Sabah had registered for positions in the public service sector in 2013, and out of the total, 5,000 had been appointed.
He also revealed that from the information acquired from JobsMalaysia, there were about 130,000 vacancies in the private sector last year, but only 1,800 positions were filled.
“This number shows that there is a very stiff competition in getting a job in the public sector. On the other hand, there are still a lot of vacancies in the private sector which also give opportunities for graduates to work nearer to their home towns,” he said.
He also said graduates should have the mindset that it was beneficial to get a job as the experience gained from work could improve their soft skills and at the same time expand their social network.
“We do not have to be too choosy when it comes to finding a job as there are a lot of opportunities available if we think positively and improve ourselves when we are working,” he added.
Leduinah Lairis, 24, a student from the Diploma in Business Management course at UiTM Sabah, said CAIREX created an opportunity for her to be exposed to private companies which offered jobs related to her course of study.
“I am very happy that this expo is held here as it is very convenient for me,” she said, adding that it was the first job expo she had attended.
“From this program, I have discovered a few companies that I was not familiar with. Getting to know the companies through the booths set up here exposes me to the possibilities of working with one of them,” she added.
Dayangku Siti Zulaiha, 22, who is in her final semester for the Diploma in Accounting course, said the expo would help her to decide whether to continue studying to a degree level or not.
“I hope this expo will give me some idea on what jobs are available for diploma and degree graduates,” she said.
However, a student in the Diploma in Banking course from Tawau, Mohd Azlan Sah Zulkifli, 22, thought that CAIREX offered too little options.
“I think they should get more companies to set up booths for this program as there are a limited number of vacancies in each company,” he said.
During the event, Abdul Kadir announced that there would be an UiTM Sabah 40th Anniversary Peak Dinner Event on March 29 and all alumni of UiTM Sabah are invited to attend the event which would also be attended by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman.
Entrance fees will be donated to the Mengubah Destini Anak Bangsa fund.