As the job market becomes increasingly competitive, tertiary students need to improve their employability skills to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Enhancing their employability skills will not only give them an edge in the job search, but also position them for jobs with better prospects. Employability means more than just getting a job; jobseekers must exhibit the skills and mindset to gain, create and maintain work; in short, they must be able to perform effectively to contribute to organisational success. In short, having good employability skills allows individuals to get a job, manage their career and adapt to challenging work situations.
Personal qualities, teamwork and communication skills
According to Chun How Chin, academic manager at Jesselton College Sabah, tertiary students can improve their employability in several ways. "Jobseekers should possess not only the hard skills gained through academic studies, but also the personal qualities that enhance job performance. Tertiary students can enhance their knowledge and skills by enrolling in continuing education or joining internships, besides finding mentors or joining trade associations for enrichment," he began.
Tertiary students must develop self-motivation and initiative tend to have better employability. "Employees are expected to work unsupervised, so they must be able to make responsible decisions independently to obtain positive outcomes. They can show that they have initiative by getting relevant training and work experience. Further, they can undertake roles, placements or courses that encourage them to clearly define task requirements and successfully implement them. Since organisations regard self-motivation and self-reliance as valuable traits, tertiary students should not only establish and fulfil their own personal and professional goals, but also request feedback on their projects, skill sets and other undertakings," suggested Chin.
Teamwork ability is a vital aspect of employability. "Tertiary students can acquire teamwork experiences by undertaking group projects, work placements, team sports, environmental projects and other group activities. Additionally, they can join steering committees, boards, councils or volunteer groups," he revealed.
Written and oral communication skills are as fundamental to employability as technical qualifications. "Before graduation, tertiary students should learn how to write an effective resume and cover letter. They should do presentations and join mock interviews to improve their presentation skills. Further, they should research common interview questions and craft answers that demonstrate a range of employability skills. Moreover, they should ask a lecturer or mentor to provide feedback on what they have prepared. To improve their verbal and written communication skills tertiary students can also join public speaking forums or volunteer as spokespersons for programs or events," said Chin.
Effective life skills, professionalism and integrity
According to Nurul Nabilah Wawan, communication lecturer at Jesselton College Sabah, tertiary students should develop effective�life skills�to increase their employability. "Current organisations not only look for qualified employees, but also for individuals who can create a future path with innovative ideas. Therefore, tertiary students must exhibit high motivation, positive attitudes and good time management skills. Additionally, they must be able to use different means to communicate with clientele in geographically dispersed locations through writing, emailing and social media," she elaborated.
Professionalism and integrity are important employability skills to master for every job. "Tertiary students should join professional networking groups and leadership development programs to develop a sense of professionalism and integrity. They should take their future work life seriously and learn how to effectively manage their time and deal with pressure. They should also familiarize themselves with professionals in their chosen field to emulate their action and behaviours. Additionally, tertiary students must provide evidence that they can complete projects and tasks reliably and ethically. Professionalism also includes personal standards, such as time-keeping, appearance and ability to treat others with respect; hence tertiary students should complete a professional ethics module to refer to in their interview," explained Nabilah.
Volunteerism, commercial acumen and innovation
According to Dr. Siti Aishah Berhan, CEO of Jesselton College Sabah, doing volunteer work is fundamental to employability. "Tertiary students should do some volunteer work because it is a great way to contribute to their community and show that they are willing to help others without any pay incentive. Volunteerism helps build relevant work experience, while allowing them to make good use of their spare time," she remarked.
"Tertiary students who do volunteer work during the weekends or holidays indicate that they are doing more than just relaxing with their smartphones all day. They should work for a cause that they are passionate about because they may find a new area of employment that interests them. Besides, they can establish useful contacts since volunteering allows them to meet people from all types of careers paths and the connections may offer great recommendations on LinkedIn or serve as references," said Siti.
Commercial acumen is an important element of employability that is needed for creative problem-solving and decision-making. "Tertiary students should develop the ability to evaluate business situations and apply their expertise accordingly. Besides technical knowledge, they need to demonstrate relevant knowledge on industrial developments and global affairs by researching the wider industry that their potential employer is in," she added.
Tertiary students must develop an innovative spirit to have better employability. "They should be able to suggest innovative ways to do tasks or solve problems since potential employers prefer creative individuals who can add value to an organisation. Therefore, tertiary students must demonstrate the ability to bring something new to the potential employer, while satisfying the fundamental job requirements.� Instead of speculative ideas, they should provide evidence on how they have added value to something previously, for example, by using the innovation funnel to improve a product or service," Siti reiterated.
Resume, social networking and self-reflection
According to Stepheny Teo, business lecturer at Jesselton College Sabah, tertiary students must not only have experiences in doing projects, part-time work or volunteering, but also a resume to effectively present their achievements. "A well-written resume enables jobseekers to document their experiences in a precise manner. To improve their employability, they should revise their resume and make it easier to comprehend, besides tailoring it each time they apply to a different job. They should list their experiences in a way that is meaningful to each potential employer and ensure that it is free from grammatical and punctuational errors," she elaborated.
"Tertiary students must be accurate and truthful about their academic, work and extracurricular experiences since they are required to provide references for every job. They should list their experiences using bullet points to make it easier to read. However, they should avoid listing any personal hobbies or interests since the resume is a professional outline of their real-world experiences," added Teo.
Networking helps increase one's employability; hence, tertiary students should build a LinkedIn profile. "LinkedIn is a social networking site that is dedicated to professionals and the profiles themselves tend to be interactive. Tertiary students can list any skills that their connections can vouch. Since potential employers often refer to LinkedIn profiles for examples of work and any personal recommendations, tertiary students should include their LinkedIn profile link on their resume," she suggested.
"Employability is not limited to listing professional experiences only, but tertiary students should also reflect on these experiences to know what skills or attributes that they can capitalise on and how they can reapply them at a job setting. Self-reflection allows them to conscientiously step through their own experiences, while helping them to identify the skills and attributes that they have acquired," concluded Teo.
26 March 2021
Jesselton College is pleased to announce that it has recently been upgraded to Jesselton University College.
The certificate of approval was presented by YB Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Binti Ahmad, Minister of Higher Education Malaysia to Prof Datin Dr Noor Hamizah Hanifah, corporate advisor of Jesselton College, accompanied by Datuk Arman Azha Abu Hanifah and Prof Datuk Dr Husaini Omar, Director General of Ministry of Higher Education (names mentioned from left to right, respectively).
Established on 10 October 1988, the upgrade is a testament of Jesselton College’s commitment in providing excellent and quality higher education to students from all across Asia. The College has demonstrated outstanding and proven track record, including achieving a 5-star rating by the Malaysian Quality Evaluation System for Private Colleges (MyQuest) over the last 4 consecutive years.
Sabahans will now have more opportunities to pursue higher education as a result of this upgrade. Jesselton College, headquartered in Kota Kinabalu and managed by a highly skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced workforce, is Sabah's first and only homegrown college to be elevated to university college status.
The President of Jesselton University College extends his commendation to the Minister of Higher Education for entrusting the institution in developing Sabah's private higher education industry. Jesselton College is in the process of amending its constitution and appointing its Vice-Chancellor, while its branding trademark application with MyIPO authority is still pending approval.
What fresh grads should be focusing on By Fung Lan Yong Published in ‘Daily Express Sabah’ on April 22, 2018, Page 16 Corporate social responsibility and business sustainability have become standard business practices and values of our time. Successful organizations are those that aim to achieve a positive impact on society, while maximising the shared value for business owners, employees, shareholders and stakeholders. At his recent commencement address to the 2018 EU Asia Commencement Ceremony held at Cordis Hotel, Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai urged fresh graduates to promote corporate social responsibility and business sustainability. Stressing that one of most important roles for employees in the corporate world is to improve the public image of their organization, he said, “You want to work in an organization that is committed to various philanthropic causes. Its public image is enhanced by its social responsibility programs and consumers’ awareness of these programs. You can help your organization improve its public image by supporting non-profits through monetary donations, volunteerism, in-kind donations of products and services, and strong partnerships. Remember that consumers feel good about businesses that help and give back to the community. If you help your organization establish a favourable public image, you will experience greater job satisfaction.” Capitalize on the media Yeo elaborated that graduates should be aware of the impact of social media in the corporate world. “It does not matter how much your company is doing to promote environmental sustainability if only few people know about
We are pleased to announce that Jesselton College has been awarded a ‘5-Stars: Excellent’ college-based rating by the Ministry of Higher Education under MyQuest 2016/2017. In addition, we scored a 5-stars rating in the categories of International Student Services and Social Science, Business, Law. These ratings are a testament to Jesselton College’s consistent dedication to offering students an innovative, cutting-edge educational experience. MyQuest 2016/2017 stars rating system MyQuest is an instrument to evaluate the current performance of private colleges in Malaysia. The evaluation of private colleges is aimed at driving improvements in quality through developmental approaches, ratings and self-assessment. MyQUEST 2016/2017 is also a part of the objective to achieve the Key Results Area (KRA) for Ministry in improving the quality of education in Malaysia. The MyQUEST evaluation system covers dimensions of input, process and output that emphasize five key criteria including student quality, resources quality, quality management system, programme recognition and graduate recognition. 5-Stars quality at JC We are delighted to receive a 5-Stars rating for International Student Services. This highly favourable rating is due to our dedication and commitment towards providing top-notch services and hospitality to each student of the College. Jesselton College strongly believes that innovative higher education industry is all about the experience of learning and achieving, which prepare students for careers in global business. Our students have shown excellent employment prospects. Our graduates have secured employment at some of the biggest Asian companies. Moreover, Jesselton College also strives to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among students
Commencement at Cordis Hong Kong at Langham Place Jesselton College Sabah’s partner institution, European University, held its 2017 commencement ceremony at Cordis Hong Kong at Langham Place on 21 April 2017. A total of 127 graduates from Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Philippines and Hong Kong received their academic scrolls from the President of European University Business School, Dr. Dirk Craen witnessed by the Kota Kinabalu mayor, Datuk Yeo Boon Hai. A total of 69 were awarded Bachelor of Business Administration, with 18 from Jesselton College. Another 35 international graduates received their Masters while 22 their PhD. European University-Jesselton College partnership European University is a triple-accredited tertiary institution with campuses in Barcelona, Geneva, Munich, and Montreux. The academic partnership between Jesselton College and EU was approved by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), allowing students to complete a Bachelor’s degree in business administration at Jesselton College. This program helps substantially decrease student expenditure, thus promoting Malaysia as a hub of tertiary education. It requires local students to register in both Jesselton College and European University; follow the same syllabi, undergo the same assessment methods, and finally obtain the same qualifications as their European counterparts. In brief, both international and local students are now able to obtain a Bachelor’s degree from European University by attending classes in Sabah without the need to live in Europe. The Jesselton College-European University collaboration makes it possible to for Malaysian students to pursue a degree within an international environment that integrates both North American and European academic curricula.
Introduction Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad (KFH Malaysia) is the first foreign Islamic bank that was granted a licence under the Islamic Banking Act (Malaysia) 1983 on 8 May 2005. KFH Malaysia commenced Branch Operations on 8 August 2005. A wholly-owned subsidiary of KFH, the move to set up an office in Malaysia was on the heels of Bank Negara Malaysia's (BNM's) decision to open up the country's Islamic banking industry to qualified foreign players as recommended under its Financial Sector Master Plan. As the regional headquarters of KFH in the Asia-Pacific region, KFH’s main role is to provide innovative Shariah-based financial solutions to our customers. In addition, KFH act as the intermediary and facilitator to promote two-way investments and trade between Malaysia, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. Furthermore, Kuwait Finance House (Labuan) Berhad is licenced to carry on offshore banking business in the Federal Territory of Labuan. Jesselton College - School of Business had organized this industrial visit for students from three different programmes in Jesselton College. Understanding towards banking daily operation is the main learning outcomes for this industrial visit. On top of that, activities related to marketing of banking and financing products were shown by the personnel from Kuwait Finance House. The objectives of this visit are to provide students with exposure and insight to the real working environment in banking industry as well as linking the visit experience towards course materials that conducted during lecture. Visit Timetable Time (Duration) Activities 8.45a.m Arrival of students, lecturers and personnel
Before getting into the business world, college students should develop certain leadership skills, including a sense of responsibility and effective communication skills. At Jesselton College, students have many opportunities to develop a sense of responsibility, for example, by doing group projects and engaging in such extracurricular activities as sports and community service. As for effective communication, college life offers countless opportunities for students to interact with others, from other students to campus administrators to leaders of other groups, which in turn encourage them to improve their networking skills. Further, problem-solving acumen and persuasive ability are another two leadership attributes that can be developed while still in college. At Jesselton College, the responsibilities of satisfying the requirements of various subjects, coping with personal obligations and effectively performing their role as project leader encourage students to strengthen their problem-solving skills while enhancing their multitasking ability before they enter the professional world. Besides problem-solving, the ability to persuade a group about its goals and purpose is something that students can develop on campus. Jesselton College encourages students to assume leadership roles so that they can have the opportunity to persuasively speak in front of different groups that in turn builds the poise and self-assurance that they will need as leaders in the corporate world. Leaders must have the ability to manage a group, including overseeing operational procedures, devising budgets and setting priorities. Once enrolled in Jesselton College, students will develop management skills in various ways, for instance, by running a student representative council