SL1M OFFERS JOBLESS GRADS HOPE
KOTA KINABALU: When Riswan Japar heard about a certain programme to be held at the Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP) here, he immediately knew that he had to be a part of it.
Without any hesitation, the 21-year-old banking diploma graduate travelled more than 450km from his hometown of Tawau to attend the Skim Latihan 1Malaysia (SL1M) open day last weekend at the ILP in Sepanggar near here.
After graduating from Politeknik Sarawak, Riswan found jobs in his chosen career to be scarce and was looking forward to getting his dream job at the Sabah edition of the SL1M.
He was among the hundreds of unemployed graduates who turned up for the last leg of this year’s SL1M that had been held in other towns and cities around the country.
They came knowing that some 140,000 graduates had found jobs since SL1M began six years ago.
SL1M, which was launched in 2011, is a programme meant to help unemployed graduates, especially those from low-income fami- lies or rural areas. It equips them with skills and know-how so that they have better chances of getting a job.
For Riswan, while landing a job at the SL1M open day would be ideal, he would be happy to be offered an internship at a financial institution.
“And I heard there would also be talks about how to draw up an effective resume and preparing for an interview. All these are useful for me,” he added.
Travelling some 150km with her family from the southwestern Sipitang district to attend the open day, Nurul Rina Hafizah, 24, said SL1M was important as it enabled unemployed graduates and potential employers to meet.
“Even if they offer an industrial training position, that is good enough as it would mean unemployed graduates have the opportunity to gain valuable work experience,” said the biotechnology graduate.
Riswan and Nurul Rina were among the hundreds of unemployed graduates who turned up for the SL1M open day.
Some 32 companies such as Petronas, Maybank, Telekom Malaysia, Lembaga Tabung Haji, Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera, Boustead Group, TH Plantations and UEM Group participated in the event.
Launching the event, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan noted that SL1M was a successful initiative in tackling unemployment among graduates.
He said SL1M was expected to benefit some 25,000 unemployed graduates when the programme resumed next year.
Abdul Rahman, the minister in charge of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU), said to keep SL1M going, the Government mandated that companies contribute 1% of the sum from their contracts with the Government to fund it.
“This initiative is close to the heart of the Prime Minister. He wants to ensure that it is sustained,” Abdul Rahman said.
Abdul Rahman called on graduates to do their part to achieve their goals in life.
“There are many who want to succeed but some are too lazy to work for it.
“They want to achieve wealth and live comfortably but they do not want to strive for it,” he said.
Abdul Rahman said they could learn from Alibaba founder Jack Ma who came from an ordinary family and was even rejected by a fast-food company when he wanted a job there.
Instead of being discouraged, he said that Ma persevered and eventually started Alibaba, becoming one of the world’s wealthiest men.
Also present was SL1M secretari- at head Norashikin Ismail.
While the unemployed graduates queued to meet representatives of prospective employers, the SL1M open day also had a carnival atmosphere.
The tone was set with Abdul Rahman and Norashikin handing out school bags and stationery sets to some 500 children.
Those attending the open day were also entertained by various celebrities including Faizal Tahir, Zero from Maharaja Lawak Mega, Sakura Band, Estranged, Akim and The Majistret, Aunty Patrin, Farish Aziz and the crew from Kupi-Kupi FM, a local radio station.
Lucky visitors also went home with lucky draw prizes that included a motorcycle, a 42-inch television, a fridge, a Samsung mobile phone, and electrical appliances.