Malaysia government estimates that over 160,000 new jobs will be created in 2021

Malaysia's Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has estimated that over 160,000 new jobs will be created in 2021 through committed investment, a result of close coordination between the Government and the industry.

In a statement, the PMO said the Government always welcomes offers from Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers and the SME Association of Malaysia to work together to overcome the unemployment rate through initiatives under the 2021 Budget, especially when through enhancing skills and digitalisation. 

While areas of the country are currently still under Movement Control Order (MCO), the Government is optimistic to hit the set targets, given that the strategy is also designed to take into account the MCO and the new norms. 

The statement said: “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."

At the same time, the Special Task Force (STF) will be cooperating with non-governmental organisations to ensure each implementation remains inclusive.

The above was revealed during the second National Employment Council (NEC) meeting held virtually and chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. 

The virtual meeting was attended by 10 figures from the corporate, industry and education sectors who have been appointed on a permanent basis, namely:

1. YBhg. Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh, Chairman of Petronas cum Pro-Chancellor of Petronas University of Technology
2. YBhg. Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan, Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional;
3. Tengku Muhammad Taufik, Chief Executive Officer of Petronas;
4. Bhg. Dato 'Jeffri Salim Davidson, CEO of Sime Darby;
5. YBhg. Dato 'Dr Syed Hussain bin Syed Husman, President of the Malaysian Employers Federation;
6. Mr. K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia;
7. Mr. Chee Hong Lee, Managing Director of Infineon Technologies (Malaysia);
8. Mr. Sean Goh, Managing Director of Grab Malaysia;
9. YBhg. Datuk Michael Kang Hua Keong, National Chairman of the SME Association of Malaysia; 
10. YBhg. Tan Sri Dato 'Soh Thian Lai, President of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM);

During the meeting, the STF also submitted strategies to address the issue of unemployment and job mismatch to achieve three key objectives:

1. Human capital matching based on industry demand;
2. Increase highly skilled job opportunities; and
3. Strengthen cooperation between academics and industry.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has reported on the current situation of the country's employment ecosystem while the LAKSANA Agency has reported on the status of progress in the implementation of programs that have started under the NEC initiative.

Additionally, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) provided a report on the current situation of the country’s employment ecosystem, while the Economic Stimulus Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (LAKSANA) presented the progress status of programmes initiated by the NEC.

Photo / 123RF