Press Statement of YB Sim Tze Tzin
Online Employment System
In view of recent downturn in global economy especially from the
First few challenges have come in as no surprise when several factories started to lay off their employees. My office has received several calls from the affected workers, asking for help. I am aware of their plights and would like to help as much as possible.
We are aware that in fact several companies are actually in dire need of workers. Informal statistics showed that in fact worker turnover rate is as high as 14%, that showed that there are plenty job opportunities out there. However, there seem to be mismatches between jobs and jobless, between different geographical locations, between skill sets and experience. It is therefore important to make market as efficient as possible to match the jobless and job openings.
I see tremendous opportunity to match these affected workers with job openings with new technology. The internet has provided the leveled playing fields of this global employment phenomenon. We intend to use the internet to help the mismatches find their best match. We intend to capitalize on the new technology to make employment market more efficient.
As a younger generation ADUN, I intend to serve the people in
We are creating an online system to allow job seekers, especially the factory workers, to submit their resume online as well as to let employers list their job openings. The system will then allow both parties to search or perform a match. However, in view of the current situation where there are many people being jobless lately, we have broken down the system implementation into a few phases in order to be able to meet the current critical need first.
Phase one is to collect all the resumes and details of those who have just lost their job recently to determine the extent of the problem. And since majority of them do not have any internet access, we will be collecting their details in hardcopy and have their resumes entered into an online database. We will then approach employers to see if they have any job openings that are suitable for these people. The first phase would be rather semi-automated and as we move forward to develop the online system further, it would eventually be automated when we fully launch it.
Please also be aware that, this service will not guarantee employment and it only serve as a platform to make employer and employees to match each other more efficiently.
We would like to provide the first service to the affected workers on this coming weekend.
Date:
Time:
Venue: Bilik Operasi KeADILan Opposite Hotel Vistana
It is time we converge our workers into global human capital resources.
Sim Tze Tzin
April 11th, 2008 - 2:32 pm
This is definitely a good initiative to reduce the unemployment rate in Penang.
The hardcopy collection part makes sense to solve the lack of internet access problem and to ensure that more members of the community are reached out to.
However, I am having some qualms about the online part. What is the differentiating factor between the online portal and other existing job portals like jobstreet and jobsDB?
April 21st, 2008 - 12:31 am
This system caters mainly for those mid to lower level people, especially those who do not have internet access. Besides, it is completely free for both job seekers and employers. By making it free for everyone, this system has the ability to also include those from the lower level like operators, janitors, gardeners, security guards, etc.
I don’t think employers are willing to pay the existing job portals just to employ these people. YB Sim’s vision is to ensure that no one is left out. And moreover, this system is not to compete with the existing job portals but rather to complement them. Let them take care of those from the mid to higher level, while YB Sim takes care of the rest who do not have the privilege to be in it.
Rgds,
Alvin Cheong
(YB Sim’s volunteer)