With innovation and advanced technological capabilities, opportunities abound. However, even with new jobs being created and new possibilities for work unfolding, unemployment is, sadly, still a dilemma that persists in parts of the world.
Malaysia’s unemployment rate stands at approximately 3.4 per cent, while the youth unemployment rate in the nation stands at about 10.8 per cent. Various factors may contribute to this troubling picture, prominent reasons often include a lack of career direction, a lack of job-specific skills and unrealistic talent expectations set either by employers or by the potential employees themselves.
A lack of career direction is a particularly major issue which may affect around 3.1 million young people.
Matching talent with demand
FLIP (Future Leaders Internship Program) aims to tackle the obstacles that seem to have stunted the growth of students into an emerging workforce by developing solutions and services that empower bright young minds between the ages of 16 and 20.
In order to prepare the youth for their transition into the workforce, FLIP is hard at work getting students career-ready (and future-ready) by engaging them with real-life experience in various fields.
Internships can hold great promise for those on the lookout for relevant and practical ways to kickstart their professional lives. Through FLIP’s Internship programmes, students get to meet industry experts, attend events, commit to challenging tasks and broaden their horizons by understanding industries. Such experiences can help them when they decide to search for employment opportunities in fields that they find interesting.
Bridging the gap between industries and skilled workers
FLIP also has a heavy focus on providing career coaching initiatives for students who aren’t confident about their abilities but are passionate about exploring various disciplines. One of the issues with education today is that students who are looking to start their careers often have no connections inside the industries they want to enter.
Career coaching lets young adults get matched up with mentors from various fields. These mentors can then help guide them through the employment process, advising them on their job search, interview, resume building, work ethic and more. This can make a big difference with regards to increasing the employability of students and function as a sort of seamless interface with the industries that the students have chosen.
Spreading their wings
Malaysia isn’t the only nation that deals with unemployment issues. Countries like China, India and Indonesia also have unemployed young people who should have access to better futures. FLIP aims to tap into these markets, providing expertise and opportunities that may have otherwise been nearly impossible to obtain.
Building brighter futures
FLIP has organised initiatives that focus on inculcating career-ready mindsets among students. Actionable steps towards achieving career goals are also a focus. These programmes include elements such as design thinking workshops that teach kids about solution-based approaches to solving problems, community building workshops and other courses that are related to career-based skills like pitching, first impressions, language proficiency and much more.
Internship initiatives organised by FLIP have also impacted the lives of many students. One such example is a young lady who finished her second year of a law degree in Brickfields Asia College. She had the opportunity to work for a renowned firm for 8 days, learning the ropes and handling research work in a ‘real-world’ environment. Experiences like these can go a long way towards helping ensure that students are well-prepared to enter and thrive in various industries.
FLIP is on a mission to help students develop a love, interest and passion for their future careers. The ability to be employment-ready should be a basic right for every student, and job opportunities should be open to all those who are willing to work hard.
Stay tuned for more exciting things!
