Malaysian government partners industries to create over 160,000 jobs

The government is always ready to work with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and the SME Association of Malaysia to address the issue of unemployment through initiatives under the 2021 Budget, especially when it involves skills upgrading and digitalisation, said a PMO statement. 

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this at the second National Employment Council (NEC) meeting held virtually. 

High-level representatives from various sectors and organisations who attended the virtual meeting included Petronas chairman cum Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) pro-chancellor Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh, Khazanah Nasional managing director Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, Sime Darby chief executive officer Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson and Malaysian Employers Federation president Datuk Dr Syed Hussain Syed Husman. 

At the meeting, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) gave an update on the country’s employment ecosystem, while the Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) presented a situation report of initiatives by the NEC. 

The Special Task Force (STF) also provided strategies to address the issue of unemployment and job mismatch with three main objectives, namely, matching human capital based on industry demand, increasing highly skilled employment opportunities and strengthening cooperation between the academic sector and industry. 

“Although the country is still under the Movement Control Order (MCO), the government is optimistic that targets set can be achieved as the strategies are also designed to take into account MCO compliance and new norms. 

“Among them are 200 webinar sessions as well as 180 online interview sessions with various promotions conducted to ensure the people obtain information and take advantage of the opportunities offered,” said the PMO statement. 

To achieve this, the STF will also be liaising with non-governmental organisations to ensure each implementation remains inclusive, the statement said. 

READ: Malaysia’s jobless rate highest since 1993

The statement also said Malaysians who are seeking employment can register on the MyFutureJobs portal – a one-stop platform set up by the Ministry of Human Resources that lists more than 200,000 job opportunities.  

The portal also provides information and access to employment-related initiatives, including skills improvement and retraining, advisory services and also the latest employment-related programmes, according to Bernama.