KUALA LUMPUR: Between 2020 and Sept 27 this year, 293,639 people lost their jobs, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad told Dewan Rakyat today.
Of these, he said, 75,615 were from the manufacturing sector; 43,614 from wholesale and retail trade; 23,907 from professional, scientific, and technical activities; 19,931 from ICT; 23,124 from accommodation and food services; 21,233 from construction; 20,953 from transportation, and 65,262 from other sectors.
Meanwhile, Rahman said the MYFutureJobs portal recorded a total of 575,044 active job seekers from January to September this year.
He said according to statistics from the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) the figure was compared to the 125,956 job vacancies advertised on the portal.
He said to address the challenges of underemployment, particularly for new graduates and local workers, the ministry has introduced various programmes, including training initiatives under the Employment Insurance System; the Future Worker Training Scheme; courses focused on Industrial Revolution 4.0; strategic collaborations with technology centres; and, funding from the Skills Development Fund Corporation for skill trainees.
"The ministry is committed to ensuring that graduates and local workers can meet future economic challenges with the necessary skills, particularly in the technology and Industry 4.0 sectors, including rapidly growing automation and artificial intelligence," he said in response to Oscar Ling Chai Yew (PH-Sibu).
Ling had asked about the skills training programmes planned by the ministry to enhance the marketability of graduates and local workers in the technology and Industry 4.0 sectors amid an increasingly competitive job market.