More than 42,000 people found employment, 1,200 new jobs created in Jan - PM Ismail Sabri

KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 42,166 people found employment while 1,200 new jobs were created in January, proving that the JaminKerja Keluarga Malaysia initiative launched on Feb 19 is on the right track to achieve the target of creating 600,000 jobs this year, said Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The prime minister said the National Employment Council (NEC) was informed of this at its meeting today to discuss the programmes and initiatives which have been and would be conducted by implementing agencies to create jobs for Keluarga Malaysia.

He said this success showed that Malaysia's economy was recovering further following the reopening of various economic and social sectors.

"Looking back at the success achieved in 2021, the government with the integrated cooperation of various ministries, implementing agencies and the private sector has succeeded in 558,633 job placements.

"This achievement is 112 per cent of the target set and the government is confident that this success can be repeated with a higher target in 2022," he said in a statement.

Ismail Sabri said the government would strengthen the employment ecosystem through the establishment of the one-stop Employment Placement Centre to monitor the success of every job application.

He said this initiative would complement the MYFutureJobs platform which makes it easier for employers to offer jobs and at the same time help job seekers to register for jobs and get appointment dates for interviews.

"The government is confident that the NEC strategy can keep up the momentum for the country's economic recovery, increase the creation of job opportunities and reduce the unemployment rate.

"Apart from this, the government views seriously related issues like shortage of workers in certain sectors, equitable employment opportunities, social protection for workers and marketability of graduates," he said.

To reduce dependence on foreign workers, Ismail Sabri said the quota and multi-tier levy (MTL) system could be used while the support of employers is necessary to balance the impact of manpower shortage in the post-pandemic period.

He said NEC also agreed with the setting of several targets, 300,000 job placements under the Insentif Penggajian JaminKerja, Training and Upskilling Programme (220,000 placements) and Malaysia Short-Term Employment Programme (MySTEP) (80,000 placements).

Ismail Sabri said the Human Resource Ministry had been directed to draw up a strategy specifically to further increase job opportunities for youths as the unemployment rate for this group stands at 80.3 per cent.

He reiterated the government's stand on giving early exposure to Form One students on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to help them make career choices based on their interest.

"For this purpose, a promotion and rebranding campaign for TVET will be conducted in a comprehensive manner to eradicate the perception that TVET is second-class education. Instead, TVET will be upgraded so that it becomes a career of choice like in developed countries," he added.

-- BERNAMA