Lam Iok Ha, deputy executive director of the Women’s General Association of Macau, has said that she hopes the government can set up more training and hands-on support for the unemployed.
She believes that these tools will provide greater support for this group of people so that they will have greater success in overcoming difficulties brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the latest employment figures released by the government’s Statistics and Census Service, the overall unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of last year rose slightly to 3.1%, while the unemployment rate for local residents also edged up to 4.1%.
Lam foresees that the pandemic’s impact on the local labor market is expected to linger for some time, which will affect many families economically. She therefore hopes that more training and internship packages can be established to help the unemployed, so that they have a better chance of making it through tough economic times.
She pointed out that society is often concerned with employment issues. For example, junket closures and a protest at the Labour Affairs Bureau by construction workers have recently made news headlines.
After Lunar New Year, the market traditionally sees a rotation of workforce, Lam said. However, considering the impact on the employment market recently, local employers may not be able to absorb all of the excess workforce.
She hopes that the government will pay close attention to changes in the economic and employment environments, provide timely assistance to enterprises and employees, as well as avoid financial difficulties for more families.
Commenting on the rising unemployment rate, Lam pointed out that maintaining economic stability and residents’ employment during the pandemic is the top priority. She put forward three suggestions: a recommendation that the government actively cooperate with more enterprises to launch internships, and consider the provision of appropriate internship subsidies to allow the unemployed to participate, so that they can, through on-the-job practical training, enhance their competitiveness and increase their chance of finding employment in the future.
Furthermore, the government should evaluate and optimize on-the-job training work to develop more diverse training courses that are more modern and more competitive, in line with the future development of Macau’s emerging industries. This will enable employees to better cope with changes and challenges in the human resources market, as well as increase opportunities for both horizontal and vertical mobility.
