Ahmad Malie
SIBU: Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service (Cuepacs) Sarawak wants the government to consider opening up job opportunities for graduates yet to be employed.
Voicing concern over the number of graduates still seeking employment, state Cuepacs president Ahmad Malie said getting them employed could prevent undesired social ills from cropping up.
Ahmad was commenting on the media report that unemployment among graduates was substantial and of concern to the state.
It was reported that based on data from the Statistics Department and Jobs Malaysia there were about 15,000 to 20,000 unemployed graduates in the state, and the number of graduates applying for jobs in the state Civil Service was 40,834.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Promotion and Technical Education) Datu Len Talif Salleh had attributed this situation to the mismatch between industry requirements and qualifications obtained by the graduates.
On this, Ahmad remarked: “To tackle this issue, Cuepacs Sarawak urges the government to consider providing employment opportunities to graduates from institutions of higher learning.
“Otherwise, this will definitely disappoint the graduates, who are hoping that the government will provide employment for them.
“Their parents’ hopes, too, would be dashed after having sent their children for higher education and yet cannot assist in improving the welfare of their families as they are unable to get employment.”
He said Cuepacs Sarawak agreed with its federal counterpart in opposing the move of Ministry of Finance to freeze new job appointment to optimise government expenditures.
Cuepacs Sarawak also urged SPM and STPM school leavers not to be choosy when hunting for jobs to avoid unemployment, he added.
Meanwhile, the state government had launched the Graduate Enhancement Training Sarawak (GETS) programme to address unemployment, especially among graduates.
When officiating at the Sarawak Career and Training Fair (SCaT) 2016 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) in Kuching on Tuesday, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the programme was part of the state government’s initiative to train unemployed diploma and degree holders to enhance their employability.