KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 42,166 people found employment and 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 hitting its target of creating 600,000 jobs this year, according to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

       The Prime Minister said the National Employment Council (NEC) was informed of this at its meeting yesterday to discuss the programmes and initiatives by various agencies to create jobs for the “Malaysian Family (Keluarga Malaysia)”.

       This success demonstrated that Malaysia’s economy was recovering further after the reopening of various economic and social sectors.

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

       “This achievement is 112% of the target and the government is confident that this success can be repeated with a higher target in 2022,” he said in a statement as reported by Bernama.

       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.

       This initiative would complement the MYFutureJobs platform, which makes it easier for employers to offer jobs as well as to help job seekers register for jobs and get appointment dates for interviews, the Prime Minister added.

       “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.

       “The government also views seriously related issues like the 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 system could be used while the support of employers was necessary to balance the impact of manpower shortage in the post-pandemic period.

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

       The Human Resources Ministry had been directed to draw up a strategy to further increase job opportunities for youths as the unemployment rate for this group stands at 80.3%, the Prime Minister noted.

       He reiterated the government’s stand on providing early exposure to Form One students on Technical and Vocational Education and Training to help them make career choices based on their interests.