The government is considering taking several tough measures to ensure more employment opportunities in the wake of the global economic recession, including reserving certain jobs for locals, said Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam today.

dr s subramaniam interview 210308 05 He said his ministry was also mulling over making it mandatory for employers to register job vacancies in their companies with the Manpower Department under his ministry.

"For a start, we are considering reserving certain categories of jobs in the various industries for locals with the right skills," he told reporters after launching Perodua's Training Centre in Sungai Choh, Rawang.

He said his ministry was discussing with the industries concerned and have requested them to submit the list of jobs that could be reserved for locals to the Manpower Department.

"If the employers wish to engage or employ foreigners to those posts which are reserved for locals, then they will be asked to state their reasons," he said, adding that only when the ministry was satisfied with their reasons, would they be allowed to recruit foreigners.

'Employment kiosks'

On the move to make it mandatory for employers to register job vacancies with the ministry through its 'JobsMalaysia' portal, the minister said currently it was done on a voluntary basis.

"We may make it mandatory for them to register with us so that we can ensure that more locals will be able to get jobs, and we can also monitor the recruitment exercise so that locals are given preference," he said.

However, he said currently employers are required to submit 'employment returns' to the ministry.

"Through this process we are able to monitor the number of vacancies filled or otherwise," he explained.

Subramaniam said that, to date, about 100,000 job vacancies have been registered with 'JobsMalaysia', ranging from oil palm harvesters to top management.

The minister also said 'employment kiosks' would be opened in major shopping malls throughout the country soon, to enable job-seekers to register online to match vacancies with their qualifications.

"It will be a one-stop centre where those wishing to seek jobs in the private and public sectors, including the police and armed forces can register and also obtain information," he added.