Northern Corridor agency collabarates with industries to mitigate Covid-19 job fallout

• NCER created almost 5K job opportunities with more than US$5mil incentives
• Recruiting companies provide on-the-job training, employment

TWO electrical and electronic players, Jabil Circuit Sdn Bhd and Inari Amertron Berhad, in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) have recruited close to 2,000 job seekers in a strategic collaboration with the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority’s (NCIA) JomKerja@NCER programme.

Since the programme was launched in August 2020, the NCIA claimed that it has helped create close to 5,000 job opportunities in the manufacturing, services and agribusiness sectors, the agency said in a statement.

The government agency also noted that it had commited more than US$5.12 million (RM21 million) in incentives to over 100 businesses operating in the NCER.

[RM1 = US$2.44]

Penang and Perak lead the way in jobs created with 66.8% and 21.1% respectively, whilst Kedah and Perlis followed at 7.3% and 4.8% respectively.

This achievement is in line with Majlis Pekerjaan Negara’s (MPN) call for all parties to assist in the efforts to create job opportunities for Malaysians, NCIA said.

Chaired by Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, MPN has set a target for the creation of 500,000 new jobs in 2021. NCIA has pledged a total job creation target of 14,487 for the region this year, and is aiming to reduce the region’s dependency on foreign workers.

NCIA said local talents registered with the programme are semi-skilled and fully skilled workers from various manufacturing sectors in electical, electronics and mechanical industries, who were recently retrenched. The pool also include fresh graduates and school leavers.

Recruiting companies will employ these resources and provide on-the-job training as stipulated under the terms and conditions. During this period, NCIA will undertake to incentivise companies by paying 50% of the workers' wages up to a maximum of RM1,000 per worker for six months.

“This is a well thought-out programme that makes a lot of sense for companies like ourselves to retain and expand our business during this challenging period,” said KC Lau, executive director and group chief executive fficer (CEO) of Inari Amertron Bhd.

“With the incentives provided, we are now able to be more competitive and meet increasing demands for our products.”

KC Chen, senior financial controller of Jabril Circuit, said: “The Covid-19 outbreak has been a challenging time for many Malaysians and companies. Besides matching jobs and positions, the programme takes a holistic look at supporting companies in the short and long-term.

“We will continue supporting NCIA in its efforts to help workers and the business community.”

Jebasingam Issace John, chief executive of NCIA (pic above), said that this strategic intervention programme reflects the holistic approach of NCIA’s human capital programmes via the government’s short-term Penjana recovery plan, as well as the aspirations of National Budget 2021.

“The advanced semiconductor and electrical and electronic ecosystem in Penang and Kulim are well poised to capitalise the global shortage of microchips critical for the production of automobiles, household appliances, medical devices, telecommunication equipment to IT products,” he said.

Facts and findings

Late last year, a field study was undertaken by NCIA in collaboration with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) to assess and better understand the overall impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of the movement control order (MCO), especially on unemployment and retrenchment trends in the region.

The findings highlighted the need for integrated human capital programmes targeted to upskill and reskill workers to improve their employability and safeguard livelihood.

These ‘place and train’ programmes are instrumental to ensure the availability of a skilled workforce to support the industries and entrepreneurs that are the backbone of the economy and help address the immediate needs of the vulnerable groups and impacted industries, the study noted.

Industries with strong growth potential post-pandemic such as manufacturing, electrical and electronics, machinery and equipment, digital economy, agri-bio and logistics sectors are strongly urged to participate in this initiative.

The win-win situation provides job opportunities for those retrenched from the sectors highly impacted by the pandemic such as tourism, aviation, and maritime.

NCIA said it will continue to intensify its efforts this year to reach out to more participants (job seekers) and businesses so more can benefit from the incentives provided under the programme.

To explore job opportunities for job seekers and businesses looking to continue the hiring process or retain workers, register by contacting the NCER Secretariat at 04-503 0198/ 04-503 0199 or email here.

For further information and updates, visit here.