KUALA LUMPUR – The Works Ministry is prepared to train people who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic so that they would have the skills required to work in the construction industry, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said this would be done under a special programme by the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) to reskill and upskill local workers.
“They will be placed at the Malaysian Building Academy (ABM). As of now, they will be placed in the construction sector for three months. 289 have been trained and given work placements so far,” he said during the question-and-answer session.
Fadillah was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Robert Lawson Chuat (GPS-Betong), who wanted to know whether the ministry was conducting such training for workers from outside the building industry who had lost their jobs.
Asked on the dependence on foreign workers, Fadillah admitted that the sector, which offers skilled and semi-skilled job opportunities, was short of local workers.
To the original question from Robert on the number of ABM trainees, Fadillah said since its inception in 1997, all six ABM branches under CIDB’s supervision have trained 146,746 youths and 274,555 construction personnel in various skills.
“The training under ABM is one of the government's initiatives to enhance the skills and marketability of local workers. This is in line with the government’s efforts to reduce dependence on foreign workers,” he said. – Bernama, November 17, 2020
