The government is to identify trained and qualified people from among unemployed women and the disabled and retirees to fill vacancies in the country's employment sector, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

These people would be absorbed into the services, either in the public or private sectors, depending on their capabilities, he said.

"We have requested the relevant ministries and agencies to find out why these trained and qualified people are not in the market. They may be at home.

"We may be able to get them to meet the human resources needs in the sectors which we have identified," he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Human Capital Development in Putrajaya.

Muhyiddin said some services did not require vacancies, such as toll plaza clerks, to be filled by able-bodied people.

"In developed countries such as Japan, retirees or the disabled are engaged in such jobs. If some of these vacancies can be filled by the disabled, the existing manpower can be shifted to other sectors, and this will not jeopardise productivity and such," he said. 

Muhyiddin said this would help overcome the shortage of skilled manpower.

3.3 million workers needed

He also said that under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), the government would have to make available a workforce of 3.3 million to develop the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) in the effort to turn Malaysia into a high-income nation.

He said today's meeting discussed the need for the lead ministries of the NKEAs to study in detail the respective areas to be developed, the ETP to be implemented and the employment opportunities to be generated.

"They have been asked to identify the manpower needs in the various fields in each NKEA ... when they would be needed over the next 10 years. More importantly, they have to consider how to fill the manpower needs ... the trained workforce in all fields," he said.

Muhyiddin also said that the government agreed to have the establishment of the National Wages Council expedited once cabinet approval has been obtained.

"Only the membership of the council has to be decided upon. The matter will be brought to the cabinet in December, and it (the council) will be formally established," he said.

- Bernama