Background

The aspiration of the YB Minister of the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) is to create a single gateway of information related to career development and opportunities to increase the marketability of graduates and prospective graduates. In this regard, the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) has taken the initiative to develop a one-stop portal, namely the Graduates Reference Hub for Employment and Training or GREaT. This effort is to increase the marketability of graduates especially in dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the national economy which has also affected the opportunities for graduates to get jobs. This portal was launched by the YAB Prime Minister of Malaysia during the Launching Ceremony of the National Economic Recovery Program (PENJANA) Ministry of Higher Education Career Advancement Programme (PENJANA KPT-CAP) at the Tunku Abdul Razak Chancellor Hall (DECTAR), UKM Bangi on 28 September 2020.

For that, graduates and prospective graduates need to be equipped with information regarding career development training and also jobs that were previously obtained through various sources and sometimes made searching difficult. So with the GREaT Portal, searching becomes just at your fingertips through a single gateway and searching time can be reduced. 

The GREaT Portal supports the fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (SDG 4) namely Quality Education and SDG 8 namely Decent Work and Economic Growth. The goal of SDG4 is to ensure quality, inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. In addition, the goal of SDG 8 is to promote sustainable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. The quality education offered by IPT in Malaysia as well as the skills development programs offered in this portal show that the GREaT portal supports SDG 4 and also SDG 8. Meanwhile, through the GREaT portal there are also modules that help graduates and prospective graduates get jobs that are appropriate to their qualifications.

What is the GREaT Portal?

The GREaT Portal offers various services to assist graduates and prospective graduates. There are services from various service providers related to marketability. These include information regarding job offers; opportunities to continue studies; applications for study sponsorship facilities; entrepreneurship programs implemented; and skills development training organized. For example, graduates can obtain information and apply for PENJANA KPT-CAP through the GREaT Portal. Meanwhile, in the near future, the PENJANA KPT-PACE (Professional Certificate) Program will be offered to final year students of Public Universities, IPTS, Polytechnics and Community Colleges. These initiatives offer opportunities for graduates and final year students to follow skills development programs that aim to produce graduates who are skilled and meet the job market.

In addition, the function of the GReaT portal has been expanded to be able to match graduates with companies and industries for job offers through the Job Matching module (JobMatching@GREaT) on the GREaT portal. This module was developed to help unemployed graduates find jobs according to their qualifications and competencies and thus increase the marketability rate of graduates in the country.

Specialties of the GREaT Portal

The GREaT Portal has three specialities, namely GREaT as a multi-lateral information platform; GREaT as a quadruple helix collaboration platform; and GREaT as an e-Participation catalyst.

As a multi-lateral information platform, the content of the GREaT Portal is not only provided by the Ministry of Education. In fact, higher education institutions, industry and graduates also have the opportunity to share information for the purpose of providing portal content. This is implemented in phases where in the initial phase, content is provided by the Ministry of Education, while content from other government and private agencies is through existing modules and links to related portals. In the second phase implemented this year, higher education institutions and industry can upload content in various forms into the developed modules.

In addition, GREaT is a quadruple helix collaboration platform that has seen the development of this portal using a strategic collaboration approach between the government, IPT, industry and community to jointly help improve the marketability of graduates. GREaT is also a catalyst for e-Participation where this portal welcomes students, prospective graduates and graduates to submit suggestions or ideas to the government on ways, methods and good practices that can be benchmarked to strengthen the marketability of graduates.

This portal has received a very encouraging response. As of July 19, 2021, a total of 203,090 visitors were recorded. Among the services that are attractive is the application to participate in programs under PENJANA KPT-CAP. Graduates are strongly encouraged to continue browsing the GREaT Portal because many new programs under PENJANA KPT-CAP will be offered from time to time.

Indeed, the development of the GREaT Portal is another new benchmark for the Ministry of Education's efforts in meeting the needs of increasing the marketability of students, prospective graduates and graduates of local IPTs. Therefore, the success of the preparation of this portal is expected to boost the marketability rate of graduates, thus indirectly contributing to the country's economic development.

More Information

Name: Puan Salwati Binti Badroddin

Telephone: 03-8870 5320

email: salwati.bad@mohe.gov.my

Name: Puan Dinesh Kaur a/p Karpal Singh

Telephone: 03-8870 5074

email: dinakaur@mohe.gov.my

#KPTPrihatin

Responsible Agency: Ministry of Higher Education