SEEd.Lab to youths: Adapt or risk unemployment
KUALA LUMPUR: The younger generation must adapt key skills when setting up sustainable social enterprise companies or risk facing bleak future due to unemployment, now amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Social Enterprise Education Lab (SEEd.Lab) programme manager Aidonna Jun Ayub said as at end-2019, the youth unemployment rate had continued to spike due to issues such as skills mismatch, quality of education, lowquality jobs and slower hiring trends.
“When the pandemic hit, it intensified the call to action as we witnessed its severe impact on jobs, incomes and livelihood, crippling the nation’s economy,” she told the New Straits Times.
Malaysia recorded a 10.5 per cent youth unemployment rate in 2019. In November last year, the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 increased by 0.4 per cent to 13 per cent.
“The numbers may seem small but unless something is done fast, our younger generation will suffer in the aftermath of the pandemic,” she said.
SEEd.Lab, a programme run by Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is Malaysia’s first 12-month end-to-end social enterprise programme, where sustainable business solutions are shaped by youths through the use of digital technology.
Aidonna said the leaders at Petronas and TCS were invested in the growth of SEEd.Lab participants, dubbed SEEd.lings, and their ventures.
Through mentoring and panel sessions with the leaders, SEEd.lings benefit from the ability to interact and learn directly from business leaders.