| Azaraimy HH |
THE Brunei Government’s latest effort to resolve the rising unemployment problem has been met with overwhelming response from the public, based on the 3,105 registrations at the recent Market Day at the Centre for Capacity Building.
By 4.37pm yesterday, 963 female and 2,142 male jobseekers had registered for the 13 programmes on offer during the five-day event organised by the Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EIDPMO) at the auditorium of the former Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Masna Secondary School in Jalan 10, RPN Lambak Kanan.
Out of that total number, 1,158 came to confirm their registration, after showing interest in 29 information sessions for the Centre for Capacity Building, held by JobCentre Brunei (JCB) throughout June, during which they were briefed on the available programmes and entry requirements.
The main objective of Market Day was to help potential trainees to understand and learn more about the various programmes offered by the centre.
Through live job demonstrations, potential trainees were allowed to experience the job first-hand and to make informed decisions on the programmes that they applied for. Jobseekers also had the opportunity to interact with experienced industry personnel to gain insights into various job positions.
Yesterday, on the closing day of the Market Day, Pehin Datu Singamanteri Colonel (Rtd) Dato Seri Setia (Dr) Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, the Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office, spoke to the Bulletin about EIDPMO’s aspirations through this latest initiative.
“Our goal is to help unemployed locals to find good employment,” he said. “There are many people who have been job hunting for a long time, but lack the necessary skills or competencies. Through this initiative, we hope to provide them with training opportunities and links to job vacancies.”
The minister also assured that the jobs and training on offer have all been properly inspected, to ensure their validity.
“Jobs such as welding may not appeal to certain people, but it is a decent career and can provide a good income,” he said. “Currently, there are several local women who are doing welding and earning a very good living.”
The minister also pointed out that job-seekers need to stay positive, since positivity leads to success.
“This also applies to the rest of the society as a whole,” he said. “There are people who are always negative, criticising every policy and effort to tackle unemployment. Staying negative will not achieve anything, but being positive does.”
The minister noted that unemployment numbers would continue to increase with more people entering the job market, but that “the country and society need to stay positive and do something, in whatever way and whatever size”.
He also lauded the creative efforts of the recent Market Day, and said that EIDPMO is hoping to host another similar event in January 2018.
“By that time, we will already finish the Centre for Capacity Building located on a separate building at the school. Meanwhile the rest of the school will also be undergoing renovation and repair,” he assured.
The minister also expressed his hope to work together with Brunei’s private educational institutions, saying that they needed to offer more careers in line with the needs of local industries, to ensure suitability between job skills and training.
Meanwhile, the closing day also witnessed an awards ceremony for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) and companies providing conditional offers of employment for jobseekers.
Registered jobseekers can expect to receive a notification of their admission to the programmes by August end.
Trainees will be given a Conditional Offer of Employment (COE) with companies in the private sector, upon the commencement of their programmes.
Training will be conducted for three to six months, and will be given immediate employment upon successfully completing the instruction programme.
According to the EIDPMO, over 700 from the 3,051 registered jobseekers are already employed. This data needs to undergo further analysis, since the main objective of Market Day is securing jobs for those unemployed.
Aside from registering to the programmes available in the centre, local jobseekers also had the opportunity to register and activate their e-Darussalam account.
JCB registration counters were also made available at the venue, for those yet to enlist their names.
Those who have not enroled for any of the programmes at the Centre for Capacity Building during Market Day, they can do online, through www.ei.gov.bn/ppk.
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