30,000 marching soldiers

Six months ago, there was an article in The Star that got my interest on the front page with the headlines of the rise of unemployed graduates in Malaysia (from 80,000 to 120,000). Statistics stated a quarter of these unemployed graduates (30,000) are design and IT graduates. This is a shocking large number of graduates who are unemployed and it caused me to probe and question why this was happening?

Is the local market too saturated with designers?
Are there not enough jobs to offer to young design graduates?
Are our local educational institutions systems ineffective?
Are our design graduates mentally and professionally prepared to work when they graduate?

Jobs are posted daily in newspapers and online forums and the need for design has never been so distinct. Even though Malaysia's design industry is still in its infant stage there is allot of room for growth and development. I would strongly believe the problem lies not in the lack of jobs but with the lack of quality of design graduates. We'll come back later to how came to this conclusion, but since I study at a local design university, I realized there was a very distinct and similar pattern to design student’s behavior and characteristics in institutions in Malaysia and also ones that have graduated.

1. The term ‘professionalism’ is not in the scope of a lot of graduate’s vocabulary. This can be seen in presentation in classes/client/companies, as well as dressing in proper attire to interviews and to workplaces.
2. Taking responsibility and dealing with time management with projects. Students seem to continually break easily under pressure and ask for extensions, and the results of the quality of work, which is quite disappointing.
3. Lack of design knowledge and context in general.
4. Exposure and self-initiative to learn more about the market or about working before one graduates. In simple terms – generating contacts and knowledge in professional design practices.
5. Self educate + self learn (being independent, showing real initiative and street-wise). A lot of students believe when they are thrown into universities they should be spoon-fed all the way until they graduate. This is a very strong misconception that students have.
6. Asking questions and generally finding out more about a certain design issue, this also shows lack of persistency and a student lacks passion in learning social, cultural and business issues surrounding the 'D' word.
   
7. Taking critique when presenting ones work or showing it. (This is a sensitive issue in Malaysia, many designers are unable to take criticism or critiques well, and they see it as a personal attack instead of something, which can come out to be positive and constructive). As a result there isn't much discussion and real critique.
8. Students have a very conformist and defeatist attitude. If there are problems in clubs and certain things in colleges, students overall feel that it is not their responsibility to make things better and choose not to be involve.

I attended a ceremony recently back 6 months ago of my seniors and a few other design colleges where they were holding exhibitions of their works and but to be frank about 90% of them are unable to design. Any people who claim to know how to use a few Photoshop filters can claim themselves straight away a designer. Their work was not 'professional' enough and the quality of the designs generally was quite poor. The term designer here isn't taken professionally and seriously. Overseas a person who is a doctor or a lawyer has to uphold that sense of professionalism as well as the maturity and the mentality for that particular occupation, whilst for designers everywhere not just in Malaysia we have this constant dilemma.

With so many unemployed graduates our local educational institutions should be worried and very concerned. As a design student and a-designer-to-be I personally feel that in Malaysia we lack workshops and conventions for students to go. Students and graduates here lack real exposure, but at the same time I feel students lack real competitive edge in colleges. No wonder then we can see from the clear disinterest in design colleges, we have a lack of interest in discussion surrounding the 'D' word and the lack of quality design graduates.

Nevertheless, there is still much hope and opportunities for our young designers, with recent conventions like the Midi Convention and alot more events happening around KL e.g. Gallerizu, there is more awareness and interest generated. People are slowly realizing the importance of design and designers here in Malaysia. All we have to do is step up and step forward, I don’t think that’s too much to ask, but I guess we’ll see.