A total of 137 residents were recruited from seven on-job training programmes run by the Macau Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) and Macau’s integrated resort (IR) companies, covering job positions such as catering, housekeeping, VIP service, themed exhibitions, front desk service, kitchen assistant, security guards and lifeguards, DSAL Director Wong Chi Hong said yesterday.
Wong made the remarks yesterday during the Legislative Assembly’s plenary session debating the government’s policy guidelines for next year.
Macau’s six IR operators run casinos, hotels and a raft of other entertainment and hospitality businesses.
Wong said that the IR operators should recruit employees according to the needs of their services provided in line with the company’s non-gaming elements. He said that the bureau would help the operators provide a series of on-the-job and certificated-training programmes to enable selected local employees to complete the training in stages and be promoted after meeting the phased assessment criteria, as a way to enable the enterprises to obtain qualified local human resources.
The final recruitment round of the bureau’s “Subsidised Training Programme” will be held next month, after which the programme will come to an end. The temporary support measures were set up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim to assist residents in learning new skills as a way to increase their employability, which have been implemented for three years, and a total of 34 rounds of enrolment have been launched.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong told lawmakers during yesterday’s session that the number of applicants continued to decrease significantly as the pandemic eased and the overall economic and employment environment improved, adding that the budget of this year’s training programmes is 430 million patacas. He also said that if the budget is not used up, the remainder will be returned to the government coffers.
In addition, Lei noted that by the end of this year, a total of 12 overseas mobile payment tools involving eight countries and regions have been made available in Macau. He said that he expected the number to further increase next year.
Lei expressed the hope that local small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will further make good use of the business opportunities brought about by the digital economy. He promised that the government will continue to do a good job in its work of improving local payment tool platforms.
Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) Director Wong Chi Hong addresses yesterday’s plenary session in the legislature’s hemicycle. – Photo courtesy of TDM
