Wednesday, July 2, 2008

WEDNESDAY-2 JULY 2008- FOREIGNERS EARNING GOOD SALARY, LOCAL GRADS UNEMPLOYED


Foreigners earning good salary, local grads unemployed


KOTA KINABALU:


The over 100,000 foreign workers in the State are earning a good salary and sending the money back to their country while local graduates are finding difficulty getting employment. This is the dilemma facing Sabah, said Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Haji Hajiji Hj Noor at the Giat Mara graduation ceremony at the Menggatal community hall yesterday. “We heard reports from the media regarding the unemployment rate among our graduates because they do not master the technical skills in certain areas, giving them a hard time to secure a job,” he said. Hajiji stressed that a uiiversity education is no guarantee of a job nowadays. “A formal level of education from the universities would not guarantee an employment for an individual if he or she does not have a technical background. “However, former graduates from the technical institutions find it easier to secure a job because of the demand of technical skills in the job market. “Due to this situation, I hope the technical graduates today or from the Giat Mara could be able to fill up the demand for technical skill jobs which are highly in demand by the industrial sector in our State,” he said. With the skills gained, he said the reliance on foreign workers would be reduced and the ringgit would not flow out of the country. Hajiji also hoped that Giat Mara could standardize the effort to build up more technical entrepreneurs via the incubator program in the State in line with the Government mission to increase the number of bumiputra entrepreneurs and the vision to have one million workers in five to 10 years to develop the country’s economy. At the ceremony, 18 graduates from Kota Kinabalu who took up the vehicle mechanical course and five from the motorcycle repair course received their certificates. Thirty-three from the Giat Mara Tuaran graduated from the computer mechanical course and over 50 from the sewing course; 21 from Giat Mara Penampang graduated from the computer mechanical course followed by 20 from Giat Mara Gaya who graduated from the hairstyle and beauty course and 20 from the air-conditioner course.

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