PUTRAJAYA: The aim of creating 500,000 employment opportunities for Malaysians this year is close to realisation, with more than 75% of the target already met, says the Prime Minister.

       To further empower the country’s workforce with better skills, a higher level of expertise and resilience, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) said a National Job Creation Strategic Plan would be put in place.

       He said that as of Sept 10, more than 376,000 job seekers had gained employment through 27 government-led initiatives.

       “This exceeded the target that had been set, which is to place 354,276 job seekers in employment in the first nine months of 2021.

       “We are on track to achieving the target of creating 500,000 job opportunities for this year,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       The figures were mentioned during the third National Employment Council meeting on Wednesday.

       Ismail Sabri added that on top of this, 97,000 new jobs were successfully created through domestic investment, with 76% of the jobs falling into the skilled and semi-skilled categories.

       “This is part of the 160,000 new employment target created through investment commitments for this year,” he said.

       Ismail Sabri also said that job creation in Malaysia would be enhanced through, among others, better cooperation between industries and academics, and the preparation of local talents that meet the industries’ needs.

       The empowering of local entrepreneurs and the benefits of gig economies to generate income are also part of the strategy.

       “We will also look into ways to spur the growth of new and modern sectors and to accelerate modern practices at workplaces.

       “This will be our guide to implementing game-changing initiatives including applying artificial intelligence for career planning and matching, ” he said.

       Ismail Sabri said the marketability and the quality of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) graduates would also be given a boost, adding that among suggestions listed in the strategic plan was to have a dedicated platform to coordinate information on all TVET institutes to match students with the right schools so that job searches would be easier in the future.

       The Finance Ministry and Human Resources Ministry have been charged with developing a one-stop digital platform to ensure that training and skills enhancement programmes carried out by ministries will run effectively, he said.

       The meeting also agreed that courses offered are to be based on current economic demands, demography and local economic needs.

       “The government is confident that strategies undertaken by the council can continue the momentum for economic recovery and boost job creation.

       “This will help resolve issues such as the lack of workers in certain sectors, equal opportunities for the vulnerable groups and matters involving salaries,” he said.