PARLIAMENT | The Youth and Sports Ministry will implement more youth development programmes to improve their marketability in an effort to curb youth unemployment in the country.

Its deputy minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said among the steps to be taken are to improve the skills of youth based on their career development through youth development programmes.

“We will also give special emphasis to the use of English in all the programmes organised by the ministry and will increase entrepreneurship oriented programmes for youths,” he said during a question-and-answer session at Dewan Rakyat today.

Sim was replying to a question by Shabudin Yahaya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) who wanted to know about long-term plans and the ministry's efforts to reduce unemployment among the youth.

Sim added that the ministry would also enhance the flexibility of vocational education through short-term programmes such as boot camps as well as collaborating with stakeholders on data sharing through the Youth Entrepreneur Network portal (YEN) and increase the number of career programmes focusing on marginalised youth.

To a supplementary question by Shabudin on the ministry's initiative to address the attitude of some youths who were not using existing opportunities to build their careers, Sim said the ministry would launch a new programme conceptualising the values of Rukun Negara next year.

“The ministry will introduce the Malaysian Future Leaders School (MFLS) programme next year which will replace the National Service Training Programme. MFLS will target young people still in school, this programme is to foster traditional values based on the Rukun Negara,” he said.

- Bernama