Top Courses to Study in Malaysia after SPM/IGCSE with Best Future Job Demand

Choose to Study Courses with Future High Job Demand after SPM/IGCSE for a Successful Career

Written by EduSpiral Consultant Services. For more information contact 01111408838

With the emergence of new possibilities and opportunities through the power of emerging technologies, students must take advantage and choose courses that will be relevant in their future jobs. Successful students after SPM or IGCSE/O-Levels are those who are quick to identify courses that have future job demand.

By 2025, we will lose over five million jobs to automation.That means that future jobs will look very different by the time you graduate from your university in Malaysia. The jobs of the future will actually be more interesting and require different skills to handle them. Machines will replace many jobs done by humans in factories and physical production. Future jobs will involve knowledge creation and innovation.

The IR4.0 has a big impact on the local economy and community. The Government launched the National Policy on IR4.0 (Industry4WRD) in October 2018 to position Malaysia as a total solutions provider for the manufacturing sector in the Asia Pacific by 2025. This means the IR4.0 industries would require human capital with relevant and adequate digital and data literacy

The majority of your life is filled with all sorts of technology but the truth is, your most useful tools didn’t even exist 15 years ago! Huawei, Samsung, Oppo, Xiaomi and iPhones didn’t exist 15 years ago. With the rapid advancement of technology we can now order food, groceries, clothes, make-up or almost anything online and technological advancements such as driverless cars, smart homes, drones, and more.

In addition, we can communicate with our friends and family instantly using WeChat, WhatsApp, Line or other apps. Soon, we will have 5G and the world as we know it will again change. Therefore, will you be equipped with the necessary skills to succeed in the jobs of the future in Malaysia?

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• 13 Top Technology Courses Malaysians Must Study to Land Jobs of the Future
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What are the Top Courses with Most Potential for Future High Job Demand in Malaysia that Students After SPM or IGCSE/O-Levels Should Consider?

When choosing the right course to study in Malaysia, one important criteria that students after SPM or IGCSE/O-Levels should look at is the future job demand. Choosing to study a course that has future potential high job demand and salary would ensure that you have a higher chance of a successful career that would support your lifestyle goals.

As the digital economy grows, Malaysia must be prepared to choose jobs that will be in demand in the future as well as still exist. 75 million job roles are expected to disappear by 2022 according to the “Future of Jobs Report 2018” by the World Economic Forum,. Furthermore, another 133 million roles are expected to emerge.

The youth unemployment rate in Malaysia, at 10.9 percent officially, is more than triple the national rate of 3.3 percent and has been gradually rising over the past decade. Unemployed youth make up almost 60 percent of the 504,000 currently unemployed. The prime reason for graduate youth unemployment is the mismatch of graduate qualifications with the country’s workforce needs. Graduate unemployment was 9.6 percent or 204,000 at the end of 2018.

Graduates being left behind, possess outdated information and lacking in relevant skills required by the industry, thus contributing to the rising unemployment rate. Therefore, if you don’t plan carefully, you may end up studying a course that has no job demand after you graduate. This would be an incredible waste of your time and money.

Here at EduSpiral Consultant Services, we do our research on the job demand for the careers in Malaysia, Salary Reports, and universities so that we can advise our students based on facts and evidence. Students need to talk to the right education counsellors so that you get the right information to help you in making this life-changing decision and choose to study a course that has high job demand & salary.

Here are the courses with future high job demand that our research show as having some of the greatest potential for students to choose.

Computing & Technology Courses has Future High Job Demand in Malaysia

The Information and Technology (IT) industry continues to relish tremendous growth since the pandemic started. It is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Malaysian market to date. According to a report by GlobalData Market Opportunities Forecasts, IT expenditure in Malaysia will reach RM103.75 billion by 2023.

The National Policy on Industry Revolution 4.0 (Industry4WRD), spearheaded by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), will play a vital role in promoting digitalisation across all sectors. Businesses are starting to pivot their operations to enable remote capabilities, no longer restricted to borders and time zone differences.

Many of the fastest growing jobs and predicted future ones are driven by technology development, increased Internet connectivity, rapid globalisation and new business demands. Tech skills are required in jobs across industries in different roles and functions and this is expected to create demand for tech-based or tech-related jobs.

Jobs like artificial intelligence specialists and data scientists are required across industries to help organisations and businesses be more efficient in delivering their products and services, and be more responsive to customer demands in anticipated increased competition.

Cybersecurity and data systems integration solutions are burgeoning. The essentialities of such services received acknowledgement by SMEs, and the adoption rate reflects the shift. And predictably, the top 10% of job opportunities in Malaysia are cybersecurity related.

Budget 2021 allocated RM27million for cybersecurity programs alone. That itself forms the fundamental building blocks of the digital transition under the Malaysian Digital Economy roadmap. Although data systems integration (internet of things, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data analytics) and cybersecurity remains one of the greater potentials, the government is looking into creating 5G ecosystems.

In 2020, Malaysia recorded a shortage of 7,917 experts within the field. This is consistent with global trends, where the speed of digitalisation greatly outpaces the number of skilled talent. The government aims to resolve this shortage with plans of producing 20,000 cybersecurity knowledge workers by 2025 through the MyDIGITAL blueprint.

In February 2021, the government launched its digital blueprint—MyDIGITAL, a roadmap that charts the path towards Malaysia’s vision of becoming a regional leader in the digital economy. Some of these initiatives include increasing the number of local data centres to provide high-end cloud computing services, rolling out 5G networks, and driving greater cybersecurity adoption. MyDIGITAL is expected to create 500,000 new job opportunities in the digital economy and, in effect, contribute 22.6% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product by 2030.

• Cyber Security
• Data Science or Data Analytics
• Artificial Intelligence (Ai) or Intelligent Systems
• Robotics
• Cloud Computing
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Computer Science
• Software Engineering or Programming
• Information Technology (IT) or Information Communications Technology
• Mobile Computing
• Network Computing
• Games Development

Accounting & Financial Services Courses Still Have Potential in Malaysia

In today’s ever-changing world, banking and finance graduates are highly sought-after in a cross-section of Malaysia’s industries where each offer a variety of job opportunities.  The Financial sector stands as one of the largest sectors in Malaysia with more than 300,000 people employed. This sector is made up by professionals in the Accounting, Banking, Economics, Finance, Insurance and Statistics and Taxation sub-sectors.

An important industry for the country, it contributes up to 11 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).There are many areas in the banking and finance sector in Malaysia where each sub-sector requiring specific knowledge and skills.

As Malaysia’s economy progressively opens up and stabilises from the pandemic, roles within the Banking & Financial sector are rapidly evolving to keep pace with market and growth needs. Bank Negara, Malaysia’s central bank is set to issue its first digital banking licences in Q3 to Q4 2022, a move which is projected to accelerate the mushrooming of Fintech companies in the country.

Accordingly, demand for talent with cross-functional skill sets across finance and tech will rise rapidly as hiring activities increase. The ideal candidate would have experience in the audit, risk, or investment space as well as skills in data analytics and automation.

At the same time, there is also a growing awareness, especially among younger Malaysians, of tech-enabled financial tools such as digital wealth management platforms. As these tools and platforms become more prevalent, banks and financial institutions are progressively moving away from selling structured
products.

Fintech is another area that continues to experience significant growth due to changing consumer behaviour, movement control restrictions, and regulatory changes. According to the Fintech Malaysia Report 2021, online and mobile banking penetration reached 112.5% and 61.8% respectively, with more than 3 million new mobile banking service subscribers and 400,000 new businesses registering for QR code payment acceptance in 2020.

The key in succeeding in the banking & finance industry is choosing the right specialisation, and ensuring you find a career path that best match your abilities and interests. Therefore, having a finance qualification can lead to a rewarding career. A fast-track career in finance depends on a good understanding of market movements and the diverse investment market.

• Accounting
• Accounting & Finance
• Actuarial Science
• Banking & Finance
• Finance
• Financial Technology (Fintech)

Some Business Courses are Booming

E-commerce is seen as one of the bright spots driving Malaysia’s economic recovery, not just for its growing
popularity but also for its growth potential. Many brick and-mortar stores were able to continue their businesses throughout the lockdowns by taking them online. And with platforms like eBay, even micro, small, and medium businesses have a platform to compete in global markets.

As of Q2 2021, Malaysia’s e-commerce income grew 23.3% year-on-year, driven by the manufacturing and services sector. Total gross salaries paid within this sector also increased by 0.4%, equivalent to RM100.5 million.

The e-commerce space is revelling positive growth amidst the pandemic. Retail sectors are occupying the e-commerce space while platforms such as Lazada and Shopee are booming. The government understands the merits of e-commerce enterprises. Thus, implementing various initiatives to strengthen Malaysia’s digital economy.

In addition, there is an allotment of RM300 million for the existing Penjana Micro & SMEs eCommerce, Penjana Shop Malaysia Online, Selangor e-Bazar and Buy Malaysia initiatives by the government encouraging consumers to shop online. As a result, more than 500,000 local SMEs will procure benefits from them.

As of 2020, 83% of the Malaysian population uses the internet, with ​​70% of them frequenting social networking apps, and 61% on shopping apps. Digital marketing has become crucial for brands to reach these prospective customers, thus making roles under this industry highly demanded.

The roles under this umbrella consist of digital marketing specialists who are responsible for creating marketing campaigns and reporting results. Companies are also seeking out content creators for marketing purposes, whether it’s a writer or editor for written content, or a video producer or graphic design artist for visual content. And to ensure content is able to reach audiences, they need to be optimised for search engines like Google. This makes specialists in search engine optimisation (SEO) in demand.

A course that many students overlook is Human Resource Management. Human Resource professionals whose expertise lie in learning and development, talent management, change management and transformation are an extremely sought-after breed, and especially so if such talent possess digital adoption or digital project management experience to boot. The heightened need for greater tech-savvy HR professionals is accelerated by initiatives such as the Malaysian government’s announcement to pump US$720 million into its “Industry Digitalization Transformation Fund”, in its endeavours to enhance its digital economy. A significant US$50 million of which would be used to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in their transition to Industry 4.0.

HR leaders who “lean into” new technologies, platforms, and ways of workin will be strongly positioned to have an impact on business results and employee experience. The importance of the HR function to digitalise the modus operandi of businesses has never been more indisputable.

• Digital Marketing
• Marketing
• eBusiness
• Entrepreneurship
• Human Resource Management (HRM)
• Logistics Management
• Supply Chain Management

Engineering Courses are Reliable and Have a Stable Career

The world will always need engineers, but some specialized fields are growing faster than others. As the population ages, environmental policy changes, and automation takes over more and more aspects of manufacturing, the world needs qualified and experienced engineers to design, develop, test, and implement new strategies to meet the challenges of technological advancements.

In order for the country to become a developed nation, the engineer to population ratio must be 1:100. For Malaysia, with a population of 32 million, the number of engineers should be 300,000. Surprisingly, based on the Education Ministry’s statistics from 1997 to 2020, the average number of engineers produced per year by the local institutions of higher learning, excluding graduates from international universities is about 16,000. The cumulative total of all engineers produced from 1997 to 2020 is estimated to be about 400,000. The number of engineers may be currently surplus for Malaysia.

Unfortunately, the reality is that only 35% of the graduate engineers (GE) registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM). BEM is owned by the Malaysian government to administer the registration of PE. Although according to Malaysia’s law through the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Revised 2015), all practising engineers must be registered with the BEM as GE to work as an engineer legally. According to the statistic published by BEM in February 2020, only 10% out of 142,000 registered Graduate Engineer (GE) successfully obtained the certification as Professional Engineer, which is less than 4% of all engineers in Malaysia.

The surge in telecommunications and internet usage skyrocketed. Virtual meetings are the norm. Software such as Zoom and other communication platforms are now necessities. Wireless networks and fibre broadband are a must to keep operations and businesses running amidst this pandemic.

Ministry of Finance states that the Malaysian economy expects to rebound between 6.0% and 7.5% through its gross domestic product in 2021. And civil engineering will be the one spurring the recovery.

• Electrical & Electronic Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mechatronic Engineering
• Telecommunications Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Petroleum Engineering
• Chemical Engineering

Humanities Courses that Have Future Career Demand

Although lawyers affect nearly every aspect of society in a range of positions and industries, their basic duties are the same–to represent the needs of their clients in civil and criminal trials. Lawyers can specialize in bankruptcy, international, elder, probate, or environmental law. The growing field of intellectual property is also seeing a growing level of attention from lawyers. There are 14,300 registered lawyers in Malaysia.

• Law

Built Environment Courses that Provide Job Stability

The 5-year centralised economic development plan, known as the Malaysia Plan, will be one of the keys to driving the construction sector up to pace again. The government has plans to expand and modernise the public infrastructures within the country. In December 2020, the government approved a 2021 budget worth RM322.5 billion (US$73.3 billion). 73.3% for operational expenditure, 21.4% towards development expenditure and the balance of 5.3% to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the East Coal Rail Line aims for completion in 2027, others projects continue to boost Malaysia’s construction sector. These include the Mass Rail Transit 2, Light Rail Transit 3, Electrified Double Track Gemas-Johor Bahru, Klang Valley Double Track Phase 2, Pan Borneo Highway and Coastal Highway.

With projects underway, there is a surge in demand for skilled labour workers within the property and construction industry.

• Architecture
• Interior Architecture
• Quantity Survey (QS)

Communication & Social Science Courses that Adapt and Provide Huge Career Potential

As of 2020, 83% of the Malaysian population uses the internet, with ​​70% of them frequenting social networking apps, and 61% on shopping apps. Data from LinkedIn shows an astounding increase of 48% for more digital marketers and content creators. Digital marketing has become crucial for brands to reach these prospective customers, thus making roles under this industry highly demanded.

Existing jobs like content creators are now being taken to the next level and being given new dimensions by technology to reach a wider audience through multiple channels and platforms. Bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers are in demand as companies look to create both tactical and strategic content that will help their customers make sense of the new and rapidly changing environment.

The roles under this umbrella consist of digital marketing specialists who are responsible for creating marketing campaigns and reporting results. Companies are also seeking out content creators for marketing purposes, whether it’s a writer or editor for written content, or a video producer or graphic design artist for visual content.

• Mass Communication
• Public Relations
• Advertising & Brand Management
• Film, TV, Video or Broadcasting
• Psychology

Hospitality & Tourism Courses will Return to Normal as the Tourism Industry is Set to Boom

Over six decades, global tourism has experienced steady growth and has been seen as a powerful vehicle for economic benefit and job creation. In 2018, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reported that the tourism industry is one of the world’s largest economic sectors contributing 10.4 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and creating more than 319 million jobs globally.

While in Malaysia, in the same year, the Department of Statistics revealed that employment in the tourism industry grew by 4.9 percent (3.5 million people), contributing to 23.5 percent of total employment. These statistics provide a clear indication that the tourism industry holds promising prospects for those who intend to venture into this career path.

As long as there is interest to explore places, be it physically or virtually, the promise of securing a job in this sector will always be available. Traditional and current, tourism career options range from working in hotels or resorts, cruise ships, adventure sports centers or even as tour guides leading activities and historical trips.

However, with the advancement in new technologies, tourism-related businesses need to transform the way they operate in order to utilize and adapt to the new emerging opportunities in the current Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Blockchain, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are among the emerging buzzwords in Tourism 4.0. These technologies help to unlock innovation and new potential in the tourism sector. With available data online, more personalized experiences will be created. This will create new markets for future tourism career growth. Online travel agents, tourism influencer marketers and niche tourism are among the disruptors that are expected to cater the demand of future tourism job vacancies.

On the other hand, without doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected this industry. Many tourism services have had to close down, revenue from the tourism sector decreased and tourism operators were forced to find other alternatives to stay afloat. However, one should not be discouraged as it has been proven in the past, this industry has persevered and rebounded, and undoubtedly will be able to rebuild stronger than ever.

• Culinary Arts
• Baking or Patisserie 
• Events Management
• Hotel Management

Health Sciences Courses that will be Most In-Demand as Malaysians Grow Older

Malaysia’s changing demographics has become a significant contributor in the increased demand for healthcare services, according to a Fitch Solutions report.

In particular, its growing ageing population is expected to bring heightened demand due to a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in this age demographic. NCDs contributed up to 68% of the burden of premature deaths, majority of which occured in the 45-59 age group.

The report found that the proportion of the population aged 65 years and above has grown from 3.9% in 2000 to 5.1% in 2015, and it is estimated that the total elderly population in Malaysia will hit 2.4 million by the end of this year.

The country continuously faces a host of health-related issues that require active interventions from healthcare providers. The Ministry of Health is proactively addressing these challenges by enhancing healthcare facilities and services in the country by allocating appropriate resources to empower the public health delivery system.

As the pandemic continues to create uncertainty, health will continue to be a top priority in Malaysia. This means that medical professionals, especially nurses, will continue to be in high demand.

Hiring in healthcare and life sciences also rose, up 26 per cent in Q2 2021, and as reported in the Michael Page Malaysia Talent Trends 2021, the in-demand roles are radiographers, laboratory technologists, clinical research, specialist doctors, and research and development (R&D) scientists.

Finally, according to the Malaysian Physiotherapy Association, currently there is an estimated 2,759 practising physiotherapists in the country which is only 0.88 Per 10,000 population. Therefore, there is a demand for more qualified and trained Physiotherapists.

• Nursing
• Physiotherapy
• Medical Lab Technology (MLT)
• Biomedical Science
• Medical Imaging

Design Courses that Evolved with Technology will be Highly Employable

The rapid rate of digitalization — for example, the shift to online retail due to lockdowns — has opened up new roles in e-commerce with companies rushing to place creative ads on the various social media platforms. Those trends, in turn, have led businesses to implement new digital technologies, resulting in a surge in demand for creative designers especially in the digital area.

Many companies are tailoring advertising work to digital and direct mail in the hopes of reaching all the online shoppers at home. As companies battle to maintain brand dominance, creative firms and in-house departments are taking on additional projects, more qualified and trained creative talent are needed .

Malaysia’s rapidly maturing digital creative industry, which includes animation, movies, and video games, is proving to be a significant growth driver to the nation. In addition, a total of 35,000 jobs will be made available in the arts and creative industry through an allocation of RM100 million under the Pemulih programme announced by the Prime in June 2021.

MDEC, in its South-East Asia Animation Report 2018, said the region’s animation industry was forecast to be US$404.8bil in 2023. Based on the study by MDEC, the country’s creative content industry, which includes film and game developers, generated RM7.4bil in 2017, while in 2018, the animation export product value alone totalled RM146mil.

The industry has also created thousands of job opportunities. The report, released this year, said there were 100 animation companies in Malaysia while the whole national creative digital group totalled 350 companies. The country’s creative content works have been exported to 120 nations.

The next exceptional technology trend – Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), and Extended Reality (ER). VR immerses the user in an environment while AR enhances their environment. Although this technology trend has primarily been used for gaming thus far, it has also been used for training, as with VirtualShip, a simulation software used to train U.S. Navy, Army and Coast Guard ship captains. Around 14 million AR and VR devices were sold in 2019. The global AR and VR market is expected to grow to $209.2 billion by 2022, only creating more opportunities in the trending technology, and welcoming more professionals ready for this game-changing field.

There are many types of designers and roles that they do in a job. The demand for designers in Malaysia will depend on which type of design you specialise in.

• Animation
• Graphic Design
• Interior Design
• Multimedia Design
• Visual Effects
• Augmented Reality (AR) / Virtual Reality (VR)
• Game Design

Have You Chosen the Right Course that has Future Job Demand?

Choosing the right course to study is just the first step in the right direction of achieving a life with stable or high income. Some students have known what they wanted to be since they were young while others are no sure, even after completing their SPM & O-Levels.

Furthermore, one of the main aims of getting a university education in Malaysia is to find a stable job so that you can take care of yourself and your family. However, nowadays, with the high cost of living, just finding any job will not do. You will need to find a job that has a high salary.

With the high youth unemployment rate in Malaysia, it is important to choose your course wisely. The Ministry of Education reported that 57,000 of 173,000 of 2017 graduates remained jobless after looking for a job for six months.  The prime reason for graduate youth unemployment is the mismatch of graduate qualifications with the country’s workforce needs. Graduate unemployment was 9.6 percent or 204,000 at the end of 2018.

Therefore, if you chose the wrong course, you may end up jobless after graduating from university.