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Career Town

Career Town

Walk round a 3D town, go into its buildings and meet the careers inside.

Read it as a list instead

Loading the town…

Every building and its careers

The same content as the 3D town, as a list.

The buildings of the old square are filled from Malaysia's Critical Occupations List (MyCOL 2024/2025), published by TalentCorp and ILMIA. The list shows evidence of a hiring shortage now. It does not promise anyone a job. Careers that are not on the list say so. Source: MyCOL 2024/2025, TalentCorp(opens in a new tab)

Hospital

Treating patients and keeping people well

Tech Hub

Building software, data and networks

Engineering Office

Designing and building things that have to work

Finance Tower

Managing money, risk and businesses

Workshop

Fixing and fitting: electrics, welding, vehicles, aircraft

Research Institute

Asking questions and testing answers with evidence

Reports and research

  • Critical Occupations List 2024/2025 (TalentCorp & ILMIA). The national list of occupations that employers say are hard to fill and that matter to the economy. It is evidence of a shortage now, not a forecast and not a promise of a job. 66 occupations are on the list. 79 careers on this site match an occupation on it, 58 of them exactly. The old square of this town is filled from them. Browse careers Source: TalentCorp(opens in a new tab)
  • Graduate Tracer Study 2023 (Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT)). Each year the ministry asks new graduates what they are doing. These figures describe past graduates across all fields. They do not predict what will happen to you. 67.9% were working when surveyed. 16.6% had gone on to further study. 10.2% were not working yet. The survey covered 304,466 graduates. Outcomes by field of study Source: KPT(opens in a new tab)
  • Job vacancies by sector, 2026-Q2 (Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia (DOSM)). DOSM's quarterly review counts jobs, filled jobs and vacancies in each sector. The vacancy rate is vacancies as a share of all jobs in that sector. It is a signal about sectors, not about any one career. Vacancy rate: Agriculture 6.047120835089002%, Manufacturing 4.504308429432804%, Construction 2.071530354989744%, Mining & Quarrying 0.6007776244826288%, Services 0.5009239735577028%. DOSM marks the latest quarter as provisional: it may be revised. Source: DOSM Labour Market Review, Q2 2026(opens in a new tab)
  • What employers ask of interns and juniors (Degreemate, 4 August 2026). Our own reading of 245 job postings on Indeed Malaysia, each read in full. One job board on one day: a sample, not a census. Read what we found Source: Indeed Malaysia(opens in a new tab)
  • What students in Malaysia study: business and law is the largest field (Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT), 14 May 2026). The Higher Education Ministry's yearly statistics book counts students entering, studying at and finishing public universities, private institutions, polytechnics and community colleges. 1,367,929 students were enrolled in 2025 across all levels of study, international students included: 634,706 at public universities and 629,835 at private institutions. Business, administration and law had the most students (405,131), then engineering, manufacturing and construction (224,089) and ICT (125,793). 332,871 students finished their studies in 2025 and 496,002 new students enrolled. Source: Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT)(opens in a new tab)
  • World Bank: skills shortages are concentrated in STEM and technical jobs (World Bank, 30 April 2026). The World Bank's regular report on Malaysia's economy. The special topic of the April 2026 edition is jobs. Skills shortages are concentrated in STEM and technical fields such as core engineering and ICT roles. The share of graduates in STEM-related fields has stayed broadly flat since 2015. About 45% of Malaysian workers are in jobs with high (28%) or medium-high (17%) exposure to AI, according to a paper the report cites. Exposure does not mean the job is lost. Source: World Bank(opens in a new tab)
  • Two in three working graduates are in skilled jobs (Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia (DOSM), 31 October 2025). DOSM's yearly statistics on everyone in Malaysia whose highest qualification is a diploma or a degree, not only new graduates. Malaysia had 5.98 million graduates in 2024, and the graduate unemployment rate was 3.2%. 67.8% of employed graduates worked in skilled occupations, 31.0% in semi-skilled and 1.2% in low-skilled occupations. So 32.2% worked in jobs below their qualification (the semi-skilled and low-skilled together). Among those aged 24 and below, it was 66.0%. Source: Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia (DOSM)(opens in a new tab)
  • Worldwide: 170 million new jobs expected by 2030, and 92 million displaced (World Economic Forum, January 2025 (global, not Malaysia only)). A World Economic Forum report, based on a survey of employers, on how jobs and skills are expected to change between 2025 and 2030. It covers the world, not Malaysia in particular. 170 million new jobs are projected to be created and 92 million displaced between 2025 and 2030, a net gain of 78 million. On average, workers can expect 39% of their existing skills to be transformed or become outdated by 2030. The three fastest-growing skills are AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy. Source: World Economic Forum(opens in a new tab)
  • About 620,000 jobs are expected to face a high impact from AI, digital and green shifts (TalentCorp, 18 November 2024). A TalentCorp study of how AI, digitalisation and the green economy are expected to change job roles and skills in 10 Malaysian sectors over three to five years. About 620,000 jobs, around 18% of the 3.5 million skilled and semi-skilled employees in the 10 sectors studied, are expected to be highly impacted. It names 60 emerging roles, 43 of them in AI and digital and 11 of them green roles. The basic skills it lists as in demand include critical thinking, communication, and digital and AI fluency. Source: TalentCorp(opens in a new tab)
  • A study that follows graduates' careers years after they finish (Khazanah Research Institute, 4 March 2024). A Khazanah Research Institute report, done with the Higher Education Ministry, on how graduates of Malaysian institutions move from study into work and how their careers go on from there. Graduate employability, which also counts further study and training, rose to 84.8% in 2021, but only around 60.0% of graduates had secured a job on graduating. Its career tracking survey drew 8,026 responses from two groups of graduates, from around 2010 and around 2018. It finds more new graduates going into non-standard work such as contract, part-time and self-employment. Source: Khazanah Research Institute(opens in a new tab)
  • The critical occupations list grew from 37 to 66 occupations (TalentCorp). TalentCorp's list of occupations in Malaysia that are in demand and hard to fill, built from labour market data and employer input. MyCOL 2024/2025 lists 66 critical occupations across 18 sectors. The previous cycle listed 37 and covered only 3 sectors, so the two are not like for like. Nine occupations have been on all eight editions since 2015, among them software developers and mechanical engineers. Five occupations are on it for the first time, among them pharmacists and physiotherapists. Source: TalentCorp(opens in a new tab)

A report describes many people at one moment. It cannot say what suits you.

Scholarship Office

Scholarships and study funding to look up

Scholarships and study funding

  • Open to all races (140 in the catalogue). Scholarships whose official criteria do not restrict applicants to Bumiputera students. See the list
  • Degree (130 in the catalogue). Scholarships, sponsorships and loans for a bachelor's degree at a public, private or overseas university. See the list
  • No bond (88 in the catalogue). Scholarships whose official terms carry no service bond or repayment obligation. See the list
  • Diploma / TVET (58 in the catalogue). Scholarships, sponsorships and loans for diploma, polytechnic and TVET study. See the list
  • Pre-university (52 in the catalogue). Scholarships and sponsorships that fund Asasi, Foundation, A-Level, matriculation or overseas preparatory programmes after SPM. See the list
  • B40 / need-based (51 in the catalogue). Scholarships that set household income as a criterion, including awards reserved for B40 families. See the list
  • Full scholarships (50 in the catalogue). Awards classed as full sponsorship: usually the whole tuition fee, often with a living allowance. Check each award's coverage. See the list
  • IT & computing (38 in the catalogue). Scholarships whose sponsor limits them to computer science, data science or cybersecurity. See the list

Catalogue last reviewed on 31 August 2026. Whether an award is open changes week to week: check the provider's own page before you apply.

    Government Complex

    Public services, security and administration

    Official dates

    Dates last checked on 1 October 2026.

    Updates from government

    • STPM 2026 Semester 3 written exam starts on 17 November (Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (MPM), 14 September 2026). The Semester 3 written papers are on 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26 November 2026. The exam calendar says all dates are subject to amendment. Source: Majlis Peperiksaan Malaysia (MPM)(opens in a new tab)
    • Budget 2027 will be tabled in Parliament on 9 October 2026 (Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia (MOF), 18 August 2026). The Finance Ministry's pre-budget statement lists 10 focus areas for consultation. The fourth covers education, health and basic services; on education it stresses literacy and numeracy, TVET, STEM, and digital and AI skills. Source: Kementerian Kewangan Malaysia (MOF)(opens in a new tab)
    • National AI Action Plan 2026-2030 sets a target of up to 300,000 AI-linked jobs (Kementerian Digital, 28 July 2026). Introduced on 28 July 2026, the plan aims to support up to 300,000 new jobs attributable to AI by 2030. One of its initiatives is to build AI use, safety and ethics into school learning. These are targets, not forecasts. Source: Kementerian Digital(opens in a new tab)
    • UPU 2026/2027: 169,803 SPM leavers were offered a place (Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT), 22 May 2026). Of 235,480 eligible SPM-leaver applicants, 169,803 (72.11%) were offered a place through UPUOnline in the first round, before appeals: 91,357 at public universities, 60,947 at polytechnics, 15,844 at community colleges and 1,655 under MARA. Source: Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT)(opens in a new tab)
    • Entry routes to public institutions (IPTA) set for tahfiz, private school and UEC leavers (Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT), 14 May 2026). The Cabinet agreed that leavers from these streams who hold a full SPM can apply for any UPUOnline programme on merit. Those who sit the Examinations Board's BM and History papers may be considered for certain named programmes. Source: Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT)(opens in a new tab)
    • Gig Workers Act 2025 came into force on 31 March 2026 (Kementerian Sumber Manusia (KESUMA), 31 March 2026). The Human Resources Ministry says Act 872 is expected to benefit more than 1.64 million gig workers, covering service agreements, dispute resolution and PERKESO social security protection. Source: Kementerian Sumber Manusia (KESUMA)(opens in a new tab)
    • National Education Plan 2026-2035 launched (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM), 20 January 2026). The plan was launched on 20 January 2026. The agenda of its school plan includes a TVET pathway under the 2027 school curriculum. Source: Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM)(opens in a new tab)
    • Free higher education for OKU students at public institutions (Pejabat Perdana Menteri, 20 January 2026). At the launch of the National Education Plan, the Prime Minister said all OKU students at public universities, polytechnics and community colleges, about 3,000 of them, are given free education. Check with the institution what this covers. Source: Pejabat Perdana Menteri(opens in a new tab)
    • PTPTN scholarship for students listed in eKasih (PTPTN, 20 January 2026). From 1 January 2026, PTPTN's BAeK scholarship covers students listed in eKasih who study full-time for a diploma or bachelor's degree at public institutions (IPTA). A PTPTN loan application through myPTPTN comes first. Other conditions apply. Source: PTPTN(opens in a new tab)
    • 3,000 more university places in high-demand courses for 2026 (Pejabat Perdana Menteri, 20 January 2026). In January 2026 the Prime Minister said universities would add 3,000 places that year in fields such as law, accounting, finance, artificial intelligence, economics, data science and computer science. Source: Pejabat Perdana Menteri(opens in a new tab)
    • 13th Malaysia Plan aims for 60% of SPM leavers to enter TVET by 2030 (Kementerian Ekonomi, 31 July 2025). The plan for 2026 to 2030 sets a target of raising the share of SPM or equivalent leavers who go into TVET programmes from 53.6% in 2024 to 60% in 2030. It is a target, not a forecast. Source: Kementerian Ekonomi(opens in a new tab)
    • National Semiconductor Strategy: train 60,000 engineers by 2030 (MITI, 28 May 2024). The strategy's training target is to train and upskill 60,000 high-skilled Malaysian engineers by 2030. It is a target set by government, not a count of jobs on offer. Source: MITI(opens in a new tab)
    • UP_TVET: one channel to apply for TVET courses (Sekretariat Majlis TVET Negara (MTVET)). UP_TVET Perdana takes applications for full-time courses with intakes in January and July each year. UP_TVET Flexi has intakes all year round. Source: Sekretariat Majlis TVET Negara (MTVET)(opens in a new tab)

    Sources last opened on 2 October 2026. Policies change: read the source before you rely on one.

    University

    Lecturing, course design and training

    Routes after SPM

    • STPM (Form 6) (18 months). The most affordable pre-U. Globally recognised, classic UPU route to public universities. About this route
    • Matriculation (12–24 months). One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry. About this route
    • Asasi / Foundation (12 months). One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry. About this route
    • IPG (Teacher Training) (~5 years). Explore KPM's teacher-training route. Check current funding and apply through KPM's PISMP portal, not UPUOnline. About this route
    • Diploma (2.5–3 years). Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable. About this route
    • TVET (1–3 years). Hands-on trades with strong employability: ILP, ADTEC, kolej vokasional, GiatMARA. About this route
    • International Pre-U (1–2 years). A-Levels, AUSMAT, IB and more. The flexible premium route, local or overseas. About this route