Govt urged to allow skills training sector to operate

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Association of Skilled Workers (PKPB) has urged the government to consider allowing the skills training sector in private skills training institutions (ILKS), as well as career placement programmes, to operate during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

Its secretary-general Muhammad Rizan Hassan said that this was because skills trainees could only be given 30 per cent training in theory online while the rest required them to be in the field.

He said that they need to be in the field for the implementation of hands-on practical training and without face-to-face a endance this will have great implications for their competence to be accepted in job placement.

“Furthermore, these are the youths that we are preparing to enter the job market in important sectors of the country, including manufacturing, production, agriculture and others.

“The same goes for the initiative by the Human Resources Development Initiative Fund (HRDF) under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) ... some hands-on technical programmes that require physical presence at the training site must be continued as usual,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

He said most technical courses offered under the initiative were short and without practical training, it would be very difficult for participants to understand the skills taught. “Meanwhile, Socso’s Hiring Incentive programme has also been affected when restrictions on inter-district and inter-state travel cause job seekers to miss out the opportunity to land a job in a very challenging economic environment ... job seekers need jobs urgently, and flexibility should be given to this group,” he said.

Muhammad Rizan said that all the work of the National Apprenticeship Scheme (SPN) and career opportunity initiatives by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as job fairs and briefings, as well as open interviews should also be allowed on a small scale. - Bernama