PART 2 OF 3
Part one examined why some young Bruneians consider Australian farm work. This part examines one structural pressure behind that choice: the mismatch between qualifications, available work and expectations.
KopiTalk with MHO
The 2024 Manpower Blueprint recorded 311 vacancies against 2,760 degree-level jobseekers: roughly one vacancy for every nine people in that qualification group.
“Such inclination may influence young people's aspiration, thus affecting labour market outcomes.”
That sentence is not from the online discussion that started this series. It appears in Brunei's own national strategy for education, skills and employment.
The Manpower Planning and Employment Council released the Blueprint in 2024. Among its concerns is a mismatch between education output and labour-market demand.
In its published qualification-level table, the Blueprint recorded 311 vacancies against 2,760 jobseekers holding a first degree or higher.
That is equivalent to roughly one vacancy for every nine degree-level jobseekers in that snapshot. It does not mean nine applicants contested every position.
At the technical and vocational level, it recorded 948 vacancies against 2,085 jobseekers. The imbalance narrowed further among those with secondary education or below.
These are aggregate counts, not a measure of direct competition for each job. Vacancies also differ by occupation, experience, salary, location and required specialisation.
Even with that caution, the direction is difficult to dismiss. In the Blueprint's snapshot, the imbalance was greatest among jobseekers with degree-level qualifications.
Not a Shortage of Graduates
The supply side is substantial. In 2021, 6,208 students graduated from Brunei's higher education and technical institutions, according to figures cited in the 2024 Blueprint.
Business and information and communications technology accounted for a combined 56 per cent of those graduates. Quantity, however, does not guarantee a match with employers' requirements.
A degree category can conceal wide differences in technical ability, experience and specialisation. The figures therefore indicate structural friction, not that every graduate fits every vacancy.
The 2025 Labour Force Survey provides a newer picture of where employment is concentrated. Public administration accounted for 18.9 per cent of employed people aged 15 and above.
Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 12.8 per cent, while construction represented 11.1 per cent. Information and communication accounted for 2.3 per cent.
Those shares describe existing employment, not current vacancies. They nevertheless show an economy where public administration remains the largest single employment category.
A Preference Years in the Making
Numbers alone cannot explain why many young Bruneians pursue the same limited range of jobs. The Blueprint's survey evidence offers part of the answer.
In the jobseeker survey cited by the 2024 Blueprint, 68 per cent of respondents preferred public-sector employment, mainly because of its perceived benefits.
Another study cited in the Blueprint asked Brunei's 15-year-olds about their expected careers. Their answers clustered around a short list of familiar occupations.
Boys most often named soldier, pilot, engineer, police officer and businessman. Girls most often named doctor, teacher, lawyer and soldier.
The lists suggest that secure or established occupations retain a powerful hold on young imaginations. Even “businessman” reveals little about whether respondents envisioned entrepreneurship.
The 2025 Labour Force Survey recorded 5,700 employers and 9,100 own-account workers among 220,800 employed people aged 15 and above: about 6.7 per cent combined.
The Blueprint also cites the World Economic Forum's 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, which placed Brunei 91st among 141 economies for entrepreneurial culture.
That ranking is historical, not a current league table. Its relevance lies in the longer pattern the Blueprint was designed to address.
None of this amounts to a character judgement on an entire generation. Employment aspirations form long before a young person enters the labour market.
Parents model what appears safe. Schools reward particular achievements, while a small society naturally associates certain occupations with security, status and predictable progression.
Young people cannot fairly be blamed for seeking stability. The survey itself links their public-sector preference mainly to its perceived benefits.
The Blueprint itself shows that the Government recognises the problem. Recognition and sustained effort matter, but neither should be mistaken for measurable resolution.
The unresolved question is whether education, economic development and hiring demand are moving together quickly enough for the generation now waiting.
Coming Next
Part 3: why the mismatch persists despite years of genuine government effort, and what the 2025 rise in labour underutilisation says about implementation.
KopiTalk with MHO
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