FAOM advocates for training and certification to develop local workforce

The Vocational Training and Employment Committee of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) held a meeting to discuss unemployment and underemployment in Macau, calling for expanded training and certification programs to equip local workers with in-demand skills.

According to FAOM officials, there are currently several fields and sectors with demand for workers, such as catering, aviation, and accounting. Still, the available workforce lacks the necessary skills to fill those positions.

The meeting, once again held to provide more information and suggestions on the upcoming five-year plan for Macau, focused primarily on industry development, vocational training, talent development, and skills certification.

During the symposium, FAOM member and lawmaker Leong Sun Iok stated that “investing in people” is the strategic core of the national 15th Five-Year Plan outline, which prioritizes human resources as the primary resource.

He remarked that by optimizing education and skills training, the plan aims to comprehensively enhance the quality of the population and human capital, thereby transforming demographic advantages into advantages in talent quality and composition.

Leong noted that since Macau’s Third Five-Year Plan should align with national strategy, it should also place strong emphasis on local talent development, with the hope that the plan prioritizes key industries in vocational training, deepens cooperation among government, enterprises, and educational institutions, continuously optimizes training resources, and promotes vocational certification.

The lawmaker remarked that, through such measures, the plan will better implement the principle of prioritizing employment for residents and cultivate and retain the talent needed for Macau’s long-term development.

Other members noted that last year’s FAOM report already pointed to the need to give extra attention to high-quality, full employment for residents while improving the system for protecting workers’ rights, with particular emphasis on optimizing vocational skills training.

Looking ahead, they hope to further strengthen physical and digital infrastructure and integrate information technology to help residents keep pace with industrial transformation and technological development, while emphasizing vocational training and employment assistance for youth, middle-aged, and older adults.

At the same time, they expressed a wish that the establishment of vocational certification systems across various industries would be strengthened in the future and more closely integrated with relevant training efforts.

During the session, several committee members mentioned that, in the face of a rapidly changing job market, traditional training models must be upgraded, particularly by strengthening direct collaboration between higher education institutions and enterprises to implement demand-based training.

Furthermore, several representatives emphasized that, in addition to strengthening technical skills, there is a current need to enhance job seekers’ “psychological preparation for the workplace” before employment, improve their professional competence and career-planning abilities, help young people adapt to a competitive environment, and instill professional values.