ADMIRING.......Minister
of Plantation Industries and Commodities Bernard Dompok (middle) admiring the
palm oil brunches on display at the Career Carnival.
By : ELAINE MAH
THE GOVERNMENT has no option
but to bring in foreign workers to fill the mass vacancies in the plantation industries
and commodities sector, according to Minister of Plantation Industries and
Commodities Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
He said the plantation and
commodities sector is a key contributor to the nation’s economic growth. The
export earnings from commodities in the country in 2011 recorded a 24 percent
increase from RM114.2 billion in 2011 to RM141.2 billion in 2012. This figure
is expected to rise to RM282.6 billion by the year 2020. As such the sector
provides a large number of jobs.
Disclosing details, Dompok
said 394,334 people work in oil palm plantations all over Malaysia as of
September this year. Of this figure, 299,569 people or 76 percent are foreign
workers.
He was speaking to a
gathering of job seekers at the Ministry of Plantation Industries and
Commodities Career Carnival held at Penampang recently.
Dompok said that his
Ministry constantly receives complaints from plantations and factory owners
regarding the difficulties they faced in employing local workers especially for
the positions of managers, mechanics, electricians, as well as positions in
administration and finance.
“As of September 2012, there
are 26,167 vacancies in the oil palm plantation industry that needs to be
filled. Of this figure, 5,549 vacancies are in Sabah,” he said.
Dompok urged job seekers to
participate in the various training programmes conducted by the Institute of
Malaysia Plantation and Commodities (IMPAC) where participants will be trained
to become semi-skilled and skilled workers in the oil palm, rubber, cocoa,
wood, kenaf and pepper industries.
“With the exposure and
training provided at IMPAC, even more opportunities in the plantations and
commodities sector will be opened to those who are interested,” he told the
gathering.
Dompok also urged employers
to prioritise local job seekers when hiring, as many local graduates and
trainees are qualified to fill the vacancies.
The Career Carnival,
organised by Dompok’s Ministry is a one-stop centre for job registrations, open
interview sessions and career talks that are open to the public. The centre
aims to inform and create awareness among the public of the various job
opportunities in the plantation and commodities sector.
25-year-old Adriana
Alphonsus from Penampang found the Carnival to be useful and informative to her
as a job seeker. Adriana hopes to find a job in the plantation industry in the
administrative section. She has worked previously with other companies on a
contract basis and hopes to find a permanent job.
For J. Elly Tikol, 24, from Kudat, the Carnival enables him to
gather more information about career opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
He is currently a student at HARINA Consultancy Services where he trains for
the manufacturing sector. (Insight Sabah)
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