MRT project trains young graduates into successful contractors

The Mass Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) Line 1 has not only produced jobs for young graduates but also created several young contractors, according to MRT Strategic Communications and Stakeholder Relations Director Datuk Najmuddin Abdullah.

He said that under the MRT Young Entrepreneur Programme (MYEP), which was launched in 2013, fourteen young graduates have been groomed as contractors and awarded several work packages associated with the MRT SBK Line.

They were awarded contract packages involving painting and decoration works, surface water drainage, construction of fencing and gates and laying of permanent roads, landscape and turfing, he said to Bernama in an interview here recently.

MYEP is a joint programme among MRT Corp, Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia to turn unemployed young Bumiputera graduates into successful contractors.

The selected participants have to undergo intensive and hands-on training for a year where they will acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to become entrepreneurs in the construction industry.

Najmuddin said the objective of the programme was to provide job opportunities for potential graduates with technical background in technical-related business ventures, apart from giving them opportunities to venture into the construction industry.

"This is a mega project, so when they (young contractors) are involved, they gain experience and knowledge, thus enhancing themselves to be a skillful contractors," he said.

The first phase of the SBK MRT Line 1 from Sungai Buloh to Semantan is scheduled to be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Thursday and will be opened to the public on Friday.

-- BERNAMA