MUKAH: The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on ‘Mini Job Carnival Mukah Division’ yesterday as indicated by the drastic drop in the number of job seekers attending the event.
Sarawak Labour Department director Awang Raduan Awang Omar admitted that the pandemic really had a big impact on the carnival.
He said this was the first time the carnival, in its fifth edition, had to be organised under the new normal due to the pandemic.
He added that the carnival had to adapt to the new normal and comply with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by allowing 250 people only to attend the event.
“As at 10am today (yesterday) only 160 job seekers had registered,” he told a news conference after a walkabout at the carnival at Dewan Suarah Mesra here yesterday.
According to him, prior to the pandemic, the carnival used to receive very good response with attendance reaching as many as 7,000 people in Miri, while the normal figure was between 2,000 and 3,000 at any location.
He revealed that the success rate of job seekers offered employment during the carnival was about 60 percent while the average response to jobs offer was between 40 to 45 percent.
Awang Raduan explained that in spite of the SOPs, which the department also had to comply with, they would always try to assist job seekers to secure jobs.
He added that this time the one-day carnival (8am-5pm) introduced a dual-concept interview – the usual face-to-face and through virtual using Zoom application.
Furthermore, he said, the mini job carnival also involved the participation by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Kuching and Counselling and Credit Management Agency (AKPK), as well as the provision of financial services by banks and other financial agencies.
