KUALA LUMPUR: The JaminKerja Keluarga Malaysia initiative which will be launched on Saturday (Feb 19) is a continuation of efforts to revitalise the job market and help launch the country’s economic recovery, says the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
Its chief executive Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said prior to this, efforts implemented through the PenjanaKerjaya incentive programme had helped 320,864 job seekers gain employment through various initiatives last year.
“Actually, if we look at the two programmes, there is not much difference. PenjanaKerjaya has been an incentive programme for recruitment and training since 2020 for apprentices, those under 40 and those in the 40 and above segments.
“The JaminKerja initiative is in the form of financing for employers who recruit new employees starting Jan 1, 2022, among apprentices, graduates, vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, ex-soldiers, ex-prisoners, senior citizens and the unemployed,” he said during the Bual Bicara programme aired on Bernama TV on Thursday (Feb 17) night.
Mohammed Azman said under the JaminKerja initiative, employers who hired employees would receive an incentive of 20 per cent of each employee’s monthly salary for the first six months, and 30 per cent if the employee continued to be hired for the next six months.
The initiative, he said, would also benefit employees with a Mobility Allowance of RM500 which would be given if they had to move from one state or district to another to start work.
“This measure will also help launch socio-economic recovery efforts as well as boost job growth… if we look at the main goal, it’s to reduce unemployment and ensure job seekers and employers can be helped,” he said.
On Tuesday (Feb 15), Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz informed that the JaminKerja initiative involving an allocation of RM4.8bil would be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to create 600,000 jobs.
Several programmes are expected to be implemented under the programme, namely the JaminKerja Employment Incentive, Malaysia Short-term Employment Programme (MySTEP) and Training and Skills Enhancement Programme, with applications to participate in them to be opened from Jan 17 to June 30, 2022, via Socso’s website.- Bernama