The job-hunting task may be tough for the job seeker, but on the flip side, headhunters also scrambled to dive into the talent pool in finding workers. Covid-19 is causing activity to collapse and unemployment to soar. The pandemic's churn of the job market has revealed how much workers want to learn new skills which require responses from employers like offering new training that helps employees do their jobs better (“upskilling”) or learn a new field of skills (“reskilling”).
Efforts To Organize Programmes Offering Employments
In order to secure and retain employment this year, the Social Security Organisation (Socso), agency of the Ministry of Human Resources drafted numerous programmes and actions to drive employment growth in Malaysia, also with the aim of providing more access to job seekers in the town and rural areas.
2.5 million employed workers are to be retained through the implementation of several initiatives in achieving 180,000 new job placements by The Social Security Organisation (Socso) under the National People's Well-being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH) until Dec 31. Socso has successfully implement 180,449 job placements from January 1st to July 5th, 2021 through the MYFutureJobs Portal and the Recruitment Incentive Programme.
In achieving the target, Socso made full use of the initiatives under the PEMULIH package:
1. Career Generator Programme 3.0
40% to 60% of subsidies that can cover the wages paid to local employees for six months are to be received by organizations that create and offer new jobs. This programme will be slackening in the rate of growth for minimum salary requirements, under the Malaysianisation Programme, from RM1,500 to RM1,200 a month for employers who hire more locals for jobs usually filled by foreigners.
This programme also offers training costs of up to RM7,000 for the employees, including school leavers, new graduates, and vulnerable groups, that is, elderlies, people with disabilities (OKUs), single mothers, and ex-prisoners.
An allowance of up to RM1,000 on a “one-off” basis is to be provided to the employees when they attend training programs. They will also be given certification courses for professionals selected by the employer.
Contract period requirements for job seekers over the age of 50, OKU, and ex-prisoners are relaxed from 12 months to six months.
2. Temporary Gig Jobs in Informal Sectors
An amount of RM600 will be provided a month for six months for gig workers who are affected and lose their jobs during the pandemic. This only applies to those who work a minimum of 10 hours a week through self-employment. On the contrary, employers who provide employment opportunities for these workers will be receiving a one-off RM200 for each employee employed.
3. Allowance For Those Who Seek Jobs
There are over 231,000 active job vacancies on the MYFutureJobs portal, according to Socso. Whoever utilizes the portal to search for jobs and attend interviews in a month for a period of two months, will be receiving RM300 per month. Locals will also receive an incentive of RM400 when employed.
4. Involvement of Private Agencies
Employment agencies aim to match individuals to appropriate jobs. There are public and private employment agencies, which co-exist in many countries. The incentive will encourage the involvement of private agencies and further boost the process of placing individuals who have lost their jobs into the labor market. For employers in the private sector, should they offer job placements to the unemployed, the graduates, or the school leavers, they stand to receive up to RM300 for each successful job placement.
5. Wage Subsidy Programme (PSU) 4.0
For the first two months starting Aug 1, 2021, PSU 4.0 will be open to employers in all sectors of the economy whose incomes are affected by at least 30 percent after the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) or PKP. For the subsequent two months, subsidies will be given specifically to sectors categorized in the negative list issued by the National Security Council (NSC).
In total, the government has allocated RM3.8 billion for PSU 4.0 under the National People’s Well-Being and Economic Recovery Package (PEMULIH) initiative that is expected to benefit 2.5 million employees and 242,000 employees nationwide.
Socso reminded that they do not assign any agent to execute their initiative. Therefore, all employers and job seekers use the official website to submit all applications instead of other mediums such as social media to deal directly with the agency.
With these initiatives by Socso through job placement or skills development programmes as a bridge to the recovery process after the outbreak of the COVID‑19 crisis, it is hoped to bring success and help those in need to survive in this pandemic.
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