Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the aim of creating 500,000 jobs for Malaysians this year is close to realization as more than 75 percent of the target has been met so far.

Creating job opportunities for Malaysians has prompted the government to put in place a National Job Creation Strategic Plan to further empower the country’s workforce with better skills, a higher level of expertise and resilence.

Until the first week of this month, more than 376,000 job seekers had gained employment through 27 government initiatives.

Ismail Sabri added that on top of this, 97,000 new jobs were successfully created through domestic investment, with 76 percent of the jobs falling into the skilled and semi-skilled categories.

This is part of the 160,000 new employment target created through investment committments for this year.

The Prime Minister stated that job creation in the country would be enhanced through among others, better cooperation between industries and academics, and the preparation of local talents that meet the industries’ needs.

The empowering of local entrepreneurs and the benefits of gig economies to generate income are also part of the National Job Creation Strategic Plan.

-HR HUB