44,940 JOB SEEKERS REHIRED
Various initiatives, including upskilling, reskilling, to address jobless issue, says deputy minister
ATOTAL OF 44,940 people have been rehired through the Re-Employment Placement Programme and the MYFutureJobs portal, the Dewan Rakyat heard yesterday.
Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim said 95,161 applications were submitted to the portal, with applicants aged between 20 and 29, including university graduates and school leavers.
“The ministry has also organised Socso Karnival Penjana on Oct 30, which saw 229 programmes held with the participation of 541 employers. A total of 4,060 graduates and other job seekers have been hired through this.
“The government also conducts engagement sessions with private employers to address the issue of unemployment, especially in light of the (Covid-19) pandemic while instructing them not to retrench their workers abruptly,” he said in reply to a question by Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PH-Pandan).
Other initiatives, he said, in
cluded structured internship programme,
Scholarship Talent Attraction and Retention and hiring incentive programme MyApprentice, as well as upskilling and reskilling training programmes.
“We also assist job seekers by looking at vacancies (in government agencies) by liaising with the SPA (Public Services Commission) and JPA (Public Service Department) to place the unemployed. There are some 500,000 job opportunities available for those affected by the pandemic.”
Awang said the government was also taking steps to create new jobs in the information technology sector, among others, following recent reports by the World Economic Forum, which had outlined 10 sectors that would see job declines after the pandemic.
Among the jobs that would be affected, according to the report, include data entry clerks, accounting, book-keeping, payroll clerks, assembly and factory workers; construction labourers; business services and administration; managers and auditors.
“The government needs to be ready for this. We are looking at creation of new jobs that will replace these jobs. Among them are digital transformation specialists and information technology services,” he said in reply to a supplementary question by Dr Wan Azizah.
Socso reported that 90,470 people had lost their jobs up to Oct 28, based on the data recorded by its Employment Insurance System.