KUALA LUMPUR – Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh today encouraged the youth to upskill and reskill, especially during weekends, to enhance their skill sets while supplementing their incomes.
She also urged the youth to “follow their passions” while working to their strengths, adding that “no economic downturn can hinder when you have the appropriate skills”.
Yeoh was speaking today at the SEEKscapes event hosted by JobStreet Malaysia, billed as a “public-private partnership youth career and development initiative”.
She also called on businesses to host weekend training courses for the youth to supplement the ministry’s Skills for Life programme – which is being run by the Youth and Sports Skills Training Institute to empower young people with additional skills.
This programme is held on weekends using a “do-it-yourself” approach and tailored specially for youths from the B40 and M40 groups, as well as at-risk and minority youths and those who are already working aged 40 and below.
“Young people should not be afraid to step out of their comfort zones to acquire new skill sets. Do embrace a strong mindset and spend time engaging with others to build your own networks.
“Even if you have not done well in your SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia), you can also become very successful in life,” said Yeoh, adding that she knew numerous people in this category who had gone on to forge successful careers.
She commended JobStreet Malaysia for hosting such a successful event, and was particularly impressed that there was personality profiling for attendees to help them learn more about themselves while coming up with suitable career suggestions.
Thousands of youths had signed up to attend the two-day event, which also saw the participation of hiring companies such as Teleport, Sports Direct, Genting Malaysia, Big Bad Wolf Books, and Sunway Bhd.
Also present at the event was SEEK Asia chief growth officer Chiam Hsing Ren. SEEK is the holding company for JobStreet Malaysia.
“SEEKscapes by JobStreet is a great platform for the youths in Malaysia to unlock their potential by discovering their strengths, personality, passion, and interests via the various exciting activities planned at the event,” said Chiam.
“JobStreet understands that youths who are stepping into the workforce for the first time may find this journey of discovery to be daunting and at times confusing.
“Thus the event is developed to provide them with a platform to learn and understand their personalities in a fun and refreshing way, starting with a personality quiz that wil helpl generate a digital infographic about themselves that comes with some suitable career suggestions,” he added. – Bernama, March 4, 2023
