12,200 Bruneians jobless last year

Rachel Thien
BRUNEI-MUARA

MORE than 12,200 Bruneians were jobless last year, the Minister of Home Affairs said yesterday.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Hj Awg Badaruddin Penga-rah Dato Paduka Hj Awg Othman said only 35.8 per cent of 3,434 companies in five industries had Bruneians accounting for over half of their workforce.

The five industries are the wholesale and retail businesses, hotels, restaurants and eateries, community, social and private services, financial, insurance and legal services and the transport, storage and communication industry.

During the launch of Brunei Job Fair 2015, he said the remaining 2,203 companies still had a foreign workforce which made up 64 per cent of their total manpower.

The minister last year said that there were more than 100,000 foreign workers in Brunei.

YB Pehin Dato Hj Awg Bada-ruddin said this does not mean the country is not welcoming foreigners in the market, but that the government is looking to keep foreign workers within a certain size and number.

He hoped companies without a workforce of 50 per cent Bruneians will feel inclined to hire more locals.

“I will not reiterate what the causes of unemployment are. What needs to be highlighted is the fact that all stakeholders, and the government in particular, have made efforts to tackle the issue of unemployment among Bruneians and will continue to do so,” the minister said.

The Brunei Job Fair 2015 which was launched by the minister yesterday, is currently offering 1,554 jobs in the five industries.

Walk-in interviews will be of-fered for jobseekers during the four-day job fair at BRIDEX Hall 2 in Jerudong from 9am to 5pm.

The fair, held until January 22, was organised by the Local Employment and Workforce Development Agency (APTK).

The acting head of APTK, Hj Shahrul Jeffri Dato Paduka Hj Ibrahim, said the job fair is different from previous editions as they have incorporated zones for jobseekers.

Zone 1 is reserved for information about the Brunei Job Fair and services provided by APTK while Zone 2 will be manned by government agencies to provide information relating to employment-related matters.

APTK will also provide services, such as registration and renewal of APTK cards, course registration, career guidance, CV writing and information on workers’ rights.

A number of companies will present a series of demonstrations – such as how to make coffee and how to make a product more marketable – to attract the interest of local jobseekers to jobs on offer.

There will be a job briefing session for members of the public at Zones 3 and 4.

The briefing will include motivational talks, entrepreneurship, role-play by private company workers, among others.

Local prospective jobseekers who wish to attend walk-in interviews at the job fair are advised to bring along relevant documents and provide personal details.


Sumber - The Brunei Times