Training of locals mooted to tackle labour shortage, unemployment

Raven: The state government has been in discussion with the Federal Government on how to solve the labour shortage.

IN AN effort to reduce labour shortage in the tourism industry, the Johor government is looking into providing training to equip locals with the necessary skills to support industry players.

Johor tourism, environment, heritage and culture committee chairman K. Raven Kumar said the state government had been in discussion with the Federal Government on how to resolve the issue.“The labour shortage, particularly in the tourism industry, is not unique to Johor as all other states around the country are also facing a similar situation.

“However, for Johor, the issue may seem more glaring as we are having a sudden influx of visitors from neighbouring Singapore since the border reopened.

“We understand that labour shortage is serious.

“Hence, the state government is looking into providing training,” he said.

He noted that Johor’s tourism industry had seen an improvement of 70% to 80% since the border reopened in early April.

“We are trying our best to support industry players as we strive to make Johor an ideal holiday destination,” Raven added.

Suhairi: The training is aimed at giving jobless locals better opportunities for employment in the tourism sector.

Tourism Johor director Suhairi Hashim said the training programmes would hopefully encourage industry players to hire Malaysian workers to cope with the demand.

“There are still many locals who are unemployed and we want to focus on ensuring they get jobs first.

“We understand that the lack of manpower is a serious concern and to solve the problem, we must also ensure that locals enjoy good job opportunities,” he said.He noted that apart from Singapore, a large group of visitors to Johor is from Indonesia, especially those from nearby islands such as Batam.

“Johor has always been the medical tourism destination of choice for Indonesians. After the borders reopened, we have seen more Indonesians visiting private hospitals and other medical facilities here.

“We are also getting visitors from other parts of Indonesia, including Jakarta. We hope this will boost our state’s recovery,” he said.

Suhairi added that top holiday destinations in Johor included Desaru in Kota Tinggi, Johor Baru and the Iskandar Puteri area.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Johor chapter chairman Ivan Teo said industry players were also appealing to the government to allow those below 18 years old to work in the tourism industry during the school holidays.

“We are facing a huge manpower problem and some hotels are opting to operate only at 50% or 75% (capacity) as they do not have enough workers to cope with the demand.

“We have requested that the Federal Government remove the red tape to allow teenagers to work in hotels during school holidays as this could help to ease our manpower shortage,” he said.

Teo: Industry players want the government to allow teenagers below 18 to work in the tourism industry during school holidays.

Teo said the biggest shortage faced by most hotels was housekeepers, who mostly comprised foreign workers before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The food and beverage outlets in hotels are also facing a shortage but visitors can opt to eat elsewhere, outside their hotels.

“However, when it comes to housekeepers, we have no choice but to ensure that we have enough manpower as it is a matter of hygiene.

“We cannot afford to take cleanliness lightly, especially when we are still batting Covid-19,” he said.