KUALA LUMPUR – Perikatan Nasional’s Youth wing is publicising a new employment matchmaking application called AkuPN, amid the economic fallout under the coalition’s administration stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Based on Social Security Organisation statistics, there are more than 700,000 unfilled jobs. As such, PN Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin said the wing wants to be a bridge between the government’s various employment programmes and the country’s youth.
“Therefore, PN Youth would like to put forward the Platform Akar Umbi Pemacu Negara (AkuPN) for the people, specifically for Malaysian youth, through the applications ‘Cari Kerja’ (look for work), ‘Skil’ (skills) and ‘Sapot’ (support) to pioneer this effort and spur the country back to its glory days.”
Cari Kerja is an effort to link industries with jobseekers. This is made easier through a resume generator and cooperation with MyFutureJobs, which already has hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities.
Skil is intended to serve as a liaison between multiple government agencies and private institutions to upskill workers.
Sapot is meant to support new entrepreneurs or small-time traders who are starting up, want to expand their business, or are seeking financial assistance from the government or economic development community.
However, Khairil Nizam seemed to deflect the current government’s accountability with regard to the economic shortcomings, saying instead that the duty and responsibility of strengthening the economy is not the sole purview of the PN administration.
Rather, he continued, it is the duty of all, especially youth, to create new potential and opportunities to spur the country’s development.
This is despite the fact that for years, Malaysian youth have been left behind in the job market, and have been unemployed or underemployed.
Earlier, it was reported that economists and industry players cautioned that there is a job mismatch between Malaysian graduates and what the industry is expecting, leading to the current employment issues made worse by the Covid-19 economic crisis.
Experts cited problems like the industry’s refusal to pay better salaries, the fact that jobs do not pay enough, and some graduate’s skills are not compatible with jobs scopes in the market. – The Vibes, May 8, 2021
