Producing skilled manpower
Job opportunities in Johor continue to rise with some 180,000 vacancies available in seven industrial sectors, including manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, construction, hospitality and tourism, retail as well as services.
Ranging from professional jobs to operators, these vacancies are expected to be filled with several initiatives actively being carried out by the state government such as upskilling and reskilling programmes.
Unit Swadaya Insan Johor (SIJ) has also been making progress in providing a platform for Johoreans to obtain job information across various sectors through its career expeditions and carnivals.
During its recent Kembara Kerjaya and Karnival Kerjaya, some 17,000 and 10,000 job opportunities were offered respectively, with the biggest demand coming from the manufacturing sector.
Johor Unity and Human Resources Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan said 1,161 and 1,435 applicants managed to secure jobs through its Kembara Kerjaya programme in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
He said the programme also served as an avenue for people to obtain information, share knowledge and receive invaluable advice and guidance on employment matters from major industry players and agencies.
Vidyananthan noted that SIJ was on track in its role to streamline matters relevant to human resources under one agency and oversee job opportunities and employment issues in the state.
“SIJ has been strengthening its role in coordinating human capital management through research and analysis, which mainly focuses on enhancing local talent, reducing the gap between demand and supply in the workforce, as well as tackling dependency on foreign workers.
“Currently the state government, through SIJ, is also working on gathering complete data on the local workforce and developing a system for a sustainable human capital planning in Johor,” he added.
He pointed out that the findings from these studies would become guidelines in developing human capital policies in Johor.
Vidyananthan also said the state government would be zooming in on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes, and equip the talents with skills and awareness on Industry 4.0, in line with the Johor Master Skills Plan.
He said opportunities in downstream oil and gas processing were expected to increase in the next five years with the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang entering full operational mode.
“Its surrounding areas will also be developed and occupied by local businesses, besides the opportunities under the currently developing projects at Desaru Coast.
“It is not only Pengerang; the Iskandar Malaysia region is also moving forward to become the centre of global business services in the region,” he added.
He also singled out Sedenak, where the Johor data hub centre was being developed and slated for operation in the next few years.
“With domestic industries entering the transformation phase towards automation and digitalisation in line with Industry 4.0, we should expect a wider variety of opportunities to emerge,” he said.
As such, Vidyananthan assured that Johor had been taking measures by offering various upskilling and training courses to ensure that the next generation matches up to the needs of future employers.
“There are many upskilling programmes provided by training institutions such as Kumpulan Pendidikan Yayasan Pelajaran Johor, Johor Skills Development Centre, Skills Johor and local community colleges.
“Presently, the state government through SIJ is running an industry-driven training programme under Tabung Latihan Kemahiran Johor.
“These upskilling programmes focus on accommodating industrial demand, in which students are guaranteed placement in an industry as long as he or she is willing to be trained,” he added.
Vidyananthan said some 4,835 students had registered for upskilling and reskilling courses organised by SIJ since 2016.
“The figure does not include students who take up similar programmes from other public and private institutions and if all is to be taken into account, the number exceeds 10,000 students.
“We will continue carrying out awareness campaigns on the importance of TVET, to be on the same page as what has been outlined in the Johor Master Skills Plan,” he stressed.