NCIA's strategic invention programme helps businesses, workers affected by pandemic

It said the NCSIP aimed to assist impacted companies in NCER to provide retrenched workers with new job opportunities through job matching with other businesses and provide wage incentives to companies offered through NCIA's fast track intervention programmes, JomKerja@NCER and NCER Talent Enhancement Programme (NTEP).

"JomKerja@NCER and NTEP are well-thought-out programmes that help companies retain workers and expand their business during this challenging period. With the incentives provided, companies will be able to manage their cash flow better," chief executive Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John said in a statement today.

He said the NCSIP had been well received by companies and those who had been retrenched resulting from the pandemic.

According to the statement, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said after chairing the quarterly Perak state steering committee meeting in Ipoh today that the assistance provided by this programme complemented the cushion programmes by the federal as well as state government.

"I am optimistic that despite the ongoing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, NCIA is collaborating well with federal and state agencies to bring in much needed domestic direct investments and foreign direct investments in an effort to improve the economy of the state and help improve the livelihood of the people especially job creation," he said.

Under the NCSIP, NCIA has facilitated retrenched workers from several companies operating in Perak that have been impacted by the ongoing pandemic and forced to reduce manpower costs.

NCIA noted that recently, over 700 Silverstone Bhd employees who would be retrenched by June 30, 2021, had been absorbed and offered new jobs by Toyo Tires Malaysia, Carsem Sdn Bhd and OneTexx Sdn Bhd through the facilitation of JomKerja@NCER and NTEP.

Unemployed graduates, retrenched workers and school leavers registered under JomKerja@NCER will be provided with on-the-job training to upskill or reskill enabling them to be more marketable to prospective employers while companies will be given wage incentives of up to RM1,000 for each worker employed from the JomKerja@NCER talent pool up to a period of six months.

Meanwhile, NTEP enhances the marketability and provides job opportunities for unemployed graduates and retrenched workers through human capital incentives to the industries.