30k jobs to be created next year

KUALA LUMPUR: The Works Ministry estimates that around 30,000 jobs will be created next year, especially in the construction sector.

Its deputy minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup said they would be offered under the Short-Term Employment Programme (mySTEP) and Professional Training and Education for Growing Entrepreneurs (Protègè) beginning in January.

“Under Budget 2022, we want to encourage the construction sector to create employment opportunities for locals, especially the youth,” he said on the Selamat Pagi Malaysia programme broadcast by RTM’s TV1 channel yesterday, as reported by Bernama.

Therefore, he said, industry players need to use technology and mechanisation for the implementation of construction projects in line with the transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) in order to attract interest.

It will also reduce dependence on foreign labour in the long term, he said.

Apart from that, the mandatory condition for contractors who obtained government contracts exceeding the threshold value of RM10mil – which requires an allocation of one per cent of the contract value to implement the Protègè programme – would also boost employment opportunities in the construction sector.

Meanwhile, he said the government would continue with high-impact development projects worth RM3.5bil, among them the construction of the Pan-Borneo Highway and Central Spine Road in an effort to stimulate the country’s economic recovery.

He said the government would also continue to implement small and medium projects worth RM2.9bil earmarked for G1-G4 contractors nationwide and allocate RM200mil for small- scale projects specifically for bumiputra participation.

“For 2021, RM200mil has been allocated for the Maintenance Contractors Development Pro-gramme involving 564 G1-G4 contractors, namely 337 from the peninsula and 227 from Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan,” he added.

In Budget 2022, the ministry received RM7.3bil, which includes an operating budget of RM823mil while the development budget is RM6.48bil.