Dr M: Various initiatives underway to tackle unemployment

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is committed to reducing unemployment rate, especially among youths, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said this was done through various initiatives that include programmes to match skills and jobs, agency collaborations, career carnivals, holiday placements for students, and placement programmes for the special needs group.

According to him, the government had also set up JobsMalaysia, a portal that allows youths to apply for suitable jobs.

He said a total of 3,890 jobseekers already found employment through the portal between January and March this year.

Dr Mahathir added six programmes to boost employability among graduates were also being implemented.

"Youth unemployment between the ages of 15 to 24 is a normal phenomenon in developing and developed countries as they are in the transition process, from the education stage to the reality of workforce. Among factors are skills mismatch and lack of experience.

"Youths are urged to improve their attitude and be committed, hardworking, resilient, (have a sense of) teamwork, willing to learn, able to work under pressure and proactive," he said, in reply to a question from Ma'mun Sulaiman (Warisan-Kalabakan) on steps taken by the government to lower the unemployment rate.

Dr Mahathir said the government could conduct programmes to enhance skills of youths, but it would be up to them to make the initiatives to improve their employability.

According to the Statistics Department, the unemployment rate among youths in Malaysia was 10.9 per cent last year.