Poll Results

SPM LEAVERS PREFERS SOCIAL MEDIA AFFILIATE/INFLUENCER AS OCCUPATION

28 March 2023

UCSI Poll Research Centre recently conducted poll research on Malaysian Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers aged 18 to 20 years old on their future plans. A total of 1,000 respondents participated in this poll.

The respondents were asked on their plans after they completed their SPM. Only 51% of the respondents plan to pursue their studies to the tertiary level.  39% of the respondents want to go job hunting and 10% have no plan at all.

On a question on their opinion towards pursuing their studies to the tertiary level, 68% agree that pursuing study is a life changer, while 32% said that pursuing studies is not as beneficial as before.

The respondents were asked on the possible pathways after SPM. 47% of the respondents acknowledged Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and Diploma as possible pathways. The other votes were, Foundation studies (39%), Matriculation (37%) and A-levels (32%).

The 490 respondents who would not want to pursue further studies were asked for the reasons. About one-third of the respondents cited financial reasons for not pursing further studies. About one-fifth of the respondents were of the opinion that earning a higher education certificate is not as lucrative as before.

The decreasing number of SPM leavers pursuing their studies may have been caused by the low income; as some individuals with a tertiary education certificate are earning less than individuals without a tertiary education certificate. In August 2022, the Ministry of Education, Malaysia acknowledged that earning low salary is one of the challenges, causing lack of interest among students in pursuing further studies.

The 490 respondents who would not want to pursue further studies were asked on the type of job they were interested in. 34% of the respondents wished to work as a social media affiliate/influencer, 26% prefers working in e-hailing and 22% would start their own businesses and work in the food and beverages sector.

 

The 490 respondents who would not want to pursue further studies were asked if they would be interested in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), a programme created by the government to meet the demands of the industry. The results show that 59% of the respondents do not have any interest in TVET.

The target respondents were the 18 to 20 years old age group. The Centre could not do a probability sampling because no sample frame was available. Therefore, the Centre employed the convenient sampling.

About UCSI Poll Research Centre The UCSI Poll Research Centre (UCSI-PRC) is a public opinion research company owned by the UCSI Group. Its main objective is to utilise original and scientific research methodologies to investigate and analyse public opinions and attitudes.