BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): There will be a shortage of graduates with Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) and Higher National Diploma qualifications if Brunei is successful with planned foreign direct investment, said its Finance Minister.
Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Mohd Amin Liew during the 20th session of the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting.
The minister was responding to LegCo member Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Abdul Rahman Ibrahim’s query on whether or not the local workforce has adequate numbers to meet the demands of future industries.
The minister said there is a lack of graduates with appropriate qualifications based on their statistics and planned economic development, including foreign direct investment.
“At the same time, there are some 1,800 school dropouts. We can increase their chances of getting jobs through skills acquisition in TVET. If we are successful in luring FDI in five years, we will be able to reduce unemployment,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, LegCo member Yang Berhormat Zainol Mohamed noted that an unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent is quite high for a population of nearly half a million. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
