KUALA LUMPUR (June 1): Kerjaya Sukses Sdn Bhd, the local partner of global HR consulting firm BTI Consultants, has launched its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative in direct support of three (3) key segments of the workforce — a) Retrenched Workers, b) Single Mothers/Women Returning to the Workforce, and c) Unemployed Graduates.

In a statement May 30, Kerjaya Sukses’ chairman Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin said the CSR initiative was in response to the nation’s existing talent gap that has been aggravated by the current ‘soft’ economy.  

He said findings has shown the country was losing out on critical talent found in unemployed graduates, retrenched workers, and female labour participation.

“These categories of individuals are very valuable talent resource, but due to economic circumstances, have been misplaced,” he said.

He said Kerjaya Sukses’ CSR initiative was aimed at addressing the talent and human resource issues that are related to national interests, by leveraging its close partnership with major talent consultancy firm, BTI Consultants.

Azizan said industry trends and research show employees in Malaysia are increasingly concerned about job security.

He said the number of Malaysian professionals fearful of losing their jobs had more than doubled since the fourth quarter of 2014.

“A survey found that 13% of Malaysian employees were worried about their job security in 2015, compared with 6% in the previous year,”it said.

Azizan said the total number of retrenched workers have been rising year-on-year since the third quarter of 2014, according to Maybank Research findings.

He said retrenchments in the oil & gas sector had been on the uptrend since the second half of 2014 and accelerated in the first quarter of 2015.

“At the same time, services industries like finance, insurance, business services, transportation, storage and communications also showed uptrends.

“The Malaysian Employers Federation revealed that 26,000 people were retrenched in 2015 and more expected this year; while the Human Resources Ministry said, in January this year 5,009 workers were retrenched,” he said.

Azizan said in terms of university graduates, the Human Resources Ministry has found that approximately 50,000 undergraduates who flood the job market annually, end up unemployed yearly.

“According to the Ministry, between 2010 and 2013, unemployed female graduates outnumbered their male counterparts. In 2013, there were 53,282 unemployed graduates, of whom 35% were males and 65% females.

“The specific and tailor-made programmes will address the different needs of these identified segments in facing the current challenging economic climate and will be offered free of charge, as part of Kerjaya Sukses’s ongoing courses to help those in need navigate their career challenges,” he said.

Among programmes that will be offered free of charge are:

a)     Resume Writing
b)     Interview Skills
c)     Effective Networking Skills
d)     Financial Management
e)     Thinking On Your Feet