The government should lower the application threshold for the Subsidized Vocational Upskill Program to offer assistance for more underemployed and unemployed residents in Macau, Choi Kam Fu, director of the Rights Committee of the Macao Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM), told the press on the sidelines of an event yesterday.
Choi’s proposition came on the same day that the 8th round of the Program, organized by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL), kicked off its application process yesterday.
“[We learned that] some laid-
off participants who enrolled in the previous rounds [of the program] still haven’t secured a job up to now,” Choi told the media.
These concerned individuals have been jobless for a prolonged period, he said, which has dragged them deep into financial suffering.
“[As such, I] suggest the SAR government allow this group of people to enroll into the training program for one more time,” Choi stressed.
The program was first launched in 2020, with the intention to help locals weather the economic fallout and land a job during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was designed to incentivize employers to sign their staff up for training courses to upskill their vocational skills. Upon the completion of the program, each employer will be granted MOP5,000 for each employee graduating from the Program.
The prerequisites for receiving the endowment are that the employers must not have lowered the basic stipend of employees nor arranged any unpaid leave for them.
If an employer refers employees who are already on unpaid leave to join the Program, the subsidy of MOP5,000 will be given to the staff themselves.
According to official data, the previous round of the Subsidized Vocational Upskill Program registered 30 people from including 19 enterprises and three freelancers assessed as eligible for the program. Meanwhile, a total of 35 individuals had enrolled in the training course in March.
Earlier, the government pledged to set aside MOP334 million for the government-initiated Vocational Training Scheme, part of the third round of the stimulus package.
This year’s Scheme is enhanced, with no limit on the number of participants and an additional expansion to allow those who are on unpaid leave to apply even without a referral from their employers, the director of the DSAL, Wong Chi Hong, said earlier.
The upcoming scheme, with its scope extended to also benefit casino staff, will commence in May.
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