COMPANIES that want to hire foreign workers must first open the job opportunities to locals through advertisements in local newspapers or career portals.
Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip said the state government had always prioritised locals when opening up job opportunities at every level or sector.
“Companies and businesses operating in the state are required to give priority to eligible locals to occupy vacant positions.
“If there is no encouraging response from locals, then the company is allowed to hire foreigners,” he said in response to Aidel Lariwoo (PBB-Sadong Jaya) during question time at the DUN sitting on Monday (Nov 9).
He said this effort was supported through various career carnivals aimed at helping locals find employment.
Last year, a total of 14 such carnivals were organised, attracting the participation of 252 employers and offering 15,427 vacancies.
Meanwhile, 13 similar programmes were organised this year that saw the participation of 90 employers and offering 13,863 vacancies.
Talib added that there were also existing programmes introduced by the state government to ensure that jobs would not be affected in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said data on skilled workers could be obtained from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, noting that the agriculture industry recorded about 271,000 workers.
