Awang Tengah (centre) with Jack and Sulaiman (on his right), Rosli (left) and Hussaini perform a gimmick to officiate at the closing of Kenyalang Jobs Week in Lawas.
LAWAS: Many job applicants fail to secure employment because they lack good communication skills.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan stated this when officiating at the state-level closing ceremony of Kenyalang Jobs Week 2017 at Lawas Public Park yesterday.
“The power to communicate is not there, and those unable to express themselves well are at a disadvantage in the increasingly competitive job market where quality manpower is sought after.
“Gone are the days when a university degree guarantees employment. The many unemployed graduates indicate a mismatch of jobs and skills and employers seeking quality workforce,” he said.
He said job seekers could improve their employability by having good command of English as it is the lingua franca of the world and is used in technology-driven industries.
He also said Chinese has increasingly gained prominence as an international language in commerce, and being proficient in that language would be a big advantage.
“You do not need to have Oxford standard English but it is imperative to have a reasonable command to understand and express oneself for effective communication,” he pointed out.
Awang Tengah, who is also Minister of Industrial and Entrepreneur Development and Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, urged parents to encourage their children to take up TVET courses so that they have a better chance of employment in the industries.
He also said skills development would continue to be encouraged by the government through emphasis on TVET skills provided by institutions such as Centre of Technological Excellence (Centex). Earlier, state Labour Department director Jack Merudu Ko said the second series of the Job Week started in Bintulu on August 17 and was held in Bekenu, Marudi, Limbang and Lawas.
He said the department had organised seven career carnivals in the state since January this year, with 2,099 job seekers securing placements. The event attracted a crowd of about 200.
Also present at the function were Labour Department deputy director Sulaiman Ismail, Lawas district officer Hussaini Hakim, Pemanca Rosli Majid and other community leaders.