Will MyFutureJobs guarantee your future job? We went to their job fair

The Great Lockdown of 2020 and 2021 did quite a number on our national unemployment rate, which peaked at 5.3% in May 2020. It wasn’t a good time for job security either, as a giant layoff cloud loomed over many workers. In fact, Cilisos can speak from experience, as our cash flow dried up when clients postponed or withdrew branded content campaigns amidst the uncertainty. To make a long story short, the reality of letting people go became very real.

One thing which helped save the jobs of the Cilisos staff was the Wage Subsidy Programme, managed by the Social Security Organization (SOCSO) or otherwise known by its BM acronym PERKESO. So, when PERKESO invited us to cover the opening of their JaminKerja career fair in Kuala Selangor, we thought: “Wow, Kuala Selangor has great seafood” “Sure!”

An hour-drive later, we were at the ballroom of 1 Plaza, where various companies were ready to meet prospective applicants. We’ll get into some details later but, first, about the job fair.

JaminKerja job fairs are happening nationwide – 26 companies took part in Kuala Selangor

Alongside the MYFutureJobs portal which matches jobseekers with employers online, the JaminKerja job fairs allows both sides to physically meet and – in some cases as we found out later – be hired on the spot. In fact, there were actually two JaminKerja fair launches that day (Oct 3rd), with the other in Hulu Selangor.

The launch of the Kuala Selangor career fair was officiated by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul, who also announced the opening of 13 new MYFutureJobs satellite centres at Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) in 2023, in addition to the existing 150 centers already available across Malaysia. Established by PERKESO, these centres are kind of a one-stop employment centre for rural communities that offer both job opportunities and support such as profiling and career counseling.

On top of this, he also highlighted the establishment of Upskill Malaysia, an online platform listing for all skills development courses offered by government agencies. Most of these courses are online, free, and some come with an allowance for attending. There are nine courses in 35 skill areas available so far at time of writing, but more are expected to be added in due time.

Up till October, MyFutureJobs has helped 653k Malaysians find jobs; with the career fairs adding another 5.6k job offers. PERKESO also highlighted the Elaun Mencari Pekerjaan (EMP), which provides an allowance of RM300 a month for 3 months to job seekers, and Elaun Persediaan Bekerja which gives a one-off allowance of RM400 if they get a job within 4 months of their application. Both these programs are still running until December 31st 2022, with more info available here.

All that being said though, what are your chances of getting a job from one of these fairs?

Some companies will hire you on the spot and, some, for overseas jobs

After the launch, we decided to talk to applicants and employers who attended the fair that day to see what their experiences were like outside of the speeches and big numbers. Most of the attendees that day were from technical training institutes looking for future job opportunities, so a lot of replies were that the fairs were “helpful” and “a good experience for interviews”.

It was the employers who had much more interesting insights.

Razin from the talent acquisition team at Nando’s has been to 5 JaminKerja fairs since June, and told us that they hire for both crew and management levels. Crew applicants can be hired on the spot and immediately assigned to an outlet, while management applicants will have their info sent to HQ for pre-screening, follow-up interviews, and shortlisting. He also mentioned that applicants will be stationed anywhere close to their location, since not all applicants live in the areas where the fairs are held. OKU are also welcome to apply, with Razin noting that they’ve (so far) hired four OKU persons at previous fairs.

However, he noted that the on-the-spot hiring rate is between 1% – 10% depending on the crowd. Many applications will need a follow-up discussion because applicants either aren’t ready to immediately start work, or are still studying.

Heading over to a completely different kind of company, we spoke to Raymond and Thanushiya from Agensi Pekerjaan HR’s Management; who recruit Malaysians to work overseas in professional roles and internships – but fresh grads are encouraged to try as well.

Basically, they provide support in every step of the process from the application to “job support” clubs overseas, and most of these companies are located in Europe where it’s safer. An English proficiency screening is required, but training will be provided to applicants who don’t pass. Being very aware of overseas job scams, they told us that they are the only company licensed by the Human Resources Ministry to recruit for all job fields, and that PERKESO invited them with the side goal of educating job seekers from falling victim to these scams.

They’ve been to “quite a few fairs” and noted that the location plays a big role; with more central and larger venues like PWTC attracting 70 – 80 applicants where they “talk until voice gone already”. Of course, there’s no on-the-spot job offer here, but they noted that a recent success story was an SPM-level applicant who got a student and work visa in the Canadian hospitality industry.

When we asked if there was something interesting they’d like to point out, Raymond mentioned that there were “very few Chinese attending, maybe 3 or 4 only” – which was something we also noticed. We don’t mean to bring race into this, but it highlights a message that he worded very well – “It’s an open opportunity for everyone, so please come!”

Online or physical, don’t miss these opportunities if you need a job

By the time this article is published, the Kuala Selangor fair would have ended. However, you can always look for upcoming JaminKerja fairs on the MYFutureJobs website or Facebook Page. If you’re shy-shy to go, you can also check out the job listings on the MYFutureJobs website itself.

All the best finding YourFutureJob!