Working While Waiting for Government Jobs: Skill Development and Career Experiences of Graduates in Sabah’s Fast-Food, Tourism, and Supermarket Industries

Graduates in Sabah usually have to wait a long time before the government employment finally comes, so a lot of them work temporarily in the areas of fast food, tourism, and supermarkets. The authors of this paper are using a systematic literature review (SLR) research design to carry out a synthesis of past empirical evidence concerning the skill development, career experiences, and employability outcomes of graduates working in these industries while waiting for government jobs. The process of selecting studies was conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework and published between 2013 and 2024 the body of literature was mostly drawn from academic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The review captures three main aspects: acquiring transferable skills, forming a career identity, and the perceived worth of holding a job in low- and medium-skilled service sectors. The literature indicates that despite such employment being frequently associated with job insecurity and underutilization of skills, graduates manage to attain soft skills, such as communication, adaptability, teamwork, and customer management, among others, that are very helpful to their career. Besides, these experiences create resilience in the graduates and they are perceived to be practically work-ready; however, the misalignment of long-term career aspirations may lead to frustration and delay in professional progression. The review points out that there are huge contextual gaps in the literature regarding East Malaysia, particularly Sabah. The study ends with discussions of implications that arise for policymakers, higher learning institutions, and employers to assist graduate employability during the transitional employment period.