44,000 who lost jobs due to Covid rehired

MORE than 44,000 people have been rehired under several initiatives taken by the government to find jobs for those who had been retrenched.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Awang Hashim said they had found new jobs through the Re-employment Placement Programme and the MYFutureJobs portal.

They were among 95,000 people, aged 20 to 29, including graduates and school leavers, who had submitted job applications.

Awang said more than 4,000 graduates had also found jobs at the one-day Socso Karnival Penjana on Oct 30 where 541 employers participated.

Other government-managed initiatives include a structured internship programme, Scholarship Talent Attraction and Retention programme, MyApprentice hiring incentive programme as well as upskilling and reskilling training schemes.

“We also help jobseekers find employment in government agencies by liaising with the Public Service Commission and the Public Service Department.

“There are some 500,000 job opportunities available for those affected by the pandemic,” he told Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PH-Pandan).

Awang said the government continues to engage with the private sector to address the unemployment issue. He said it is also taking steps to create new jobs in the information technology sector in line with an expected decline in demand in 10 other sectors.

In a recent report, the World Economic Forum outlined 10 sectors that will not need as many workers as before such as data entry, accounting, book-keeping, payroll management, administration, business services and auditing.

“We are looking at creating new jobs instead, such as digital transformation specialists and information technology services.”

Source: TheSunDaily