BRIGHTER FUTURE: Govt to help 1 million unemployed or
underemployed who are mostly school leavers
PUTRAJAYA: THE government will be assisting some one million
rural youth who are either underemployed or unemployed.
Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd
Shafie Apdal said most of them who were jobless were school dropouts and Sijil
Pelajaran Malaysia and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia school leavers who
did not have the opportunity to further their studies.
"Some of them are unemployed and some are helping their
families such as those from the indigenous groups who are helping their parents
in the plantation sector because they do not have other employment
opportunities.
"Some left school at Form Three and private companies
did not want to take them because of a lack of qualifications.
"These are the groups we will help," he said after
chairing a taskforce on rural transformation committee meeting here yesterday.
Shafie said there were 13 million youths in the country, of
whom 3.4 million lived in rural areas. From the total, 2.4 million had jobs
while one million were unemployed.
He said the ministry's empowerment strategy for youth
included providing various initiatives via all the agencies which came under
the ministry.
"The initiatives include expansion of access to
training in high-value fields and boosting entrepreneurship.
"Youth who are involved or are interested in doing
business should be given the encouragement in the form of grants so that they
can survive. Apart from this, the premises of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) will
be rented out to them."
He said the ministry had introduced a Smart Village
programme aimed at promoting rural cooperatives involving youth members.
"The creation of the Rural Transformation Centre plays
a role because the youth can get more information about job opportunities
through ICT facilities made available there."
Shafie said agencies under the ministry would provide
training to youth who were unable to pursue their studies to ensure that they
were qualified to work in the private sector.
"They will be given adequate training skills so that
they will be accepted by companies."
With the training, youths can earn between RM3, 000 and RM4,
000 a month.
Shafie added all quarters should play their role to empower
youth by introducing initiatives and job opportunities.
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