Programme aims to reduce rate of unemployment

12/19/2009 — NST
Pahang hopes to get more local-based companies involved in the human capital development programme, called KerJaya, to support the growth of the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) projects.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, who launched KerJaya here on Thursday, said the programme was to create a group of skilled and trained workers, thus reducing the unemployment rate among fresh graduates.
KerJaya is made up of the Graduate Placement Programme (GPP), Employee Placement Programme (EPP), Graduate Training Programme (GTP) and Skills Training Programme (STP).
He said 12 companies had signed up and hoped the number would grow to 60 by March since the ECER development council was targeting to place 360 workers under the GPP and EPP programmes.
He said 200 graduates had been selected for the GPP programme which started last October, and they would be taken in on a two-year contract with the opportunity to be absorbed as permanent staff at the end of their tenure.
Under the programme, the participants will be given on-the-job training and receive a monthly salary of between RM1,200 and RM1,500, to be jointly paid by the ECER development council and participating companies.
As for the EPP, he said the ECER development council would help partner companies find part-time, contract and permanent staff from a pool of retrenched and unemployed blue-collar workers affected by the sluggish global economy.
“This will help boost employment in Pahang as the programmes will help newcomers to the job market acquire skills and training, while the jobless and those retrenched will have a chance of learning new skills.”