The Labour Affairs Bureau’s (DSAL) Vocational Training Department Chief Cheung Wai said yesterday that the bureau was planning to increase the number of places in its subsidised vocational training scheme by 10,000.
Cheung made the remarks after a press conference for the “2nd Edition of the Professional Skills Competition for Macau Tourism and Leisure Operators” at the headquarters of the Macau Trade Unions Federation in Rua da Ribeira do Patane.
Cheung noted that the subsidised vocational training scheme had three rounds of signups. The scheme currently offers 96 courses, 88 of which have already started.
The three rounds, which were only open for the unemployed and those whose employment had been affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, comprised 2,000 places.
The number of courses in the next round is yet to be announced.
By the end of last month, almost 1,000 people had completed the courses, and 400 of them were successfully employed, Cheung said, adding that out of the 400 who found a new job, 80 percent were still in their new employment after a month.
“There will be more subsidised vocational training courses for people who are employed, especially for those who are interested in learning languages or customer service,” Cheung told reporters after the press conference.
According to Statistics and Census Bureau’s (DSEC) data, the city’s overall unemployment rate stood at 2.1 percent in the first quarter, up by 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.
The chief of the Vocational Training Department of the Labour Affair Bureau (DSAL), Cheung Wai (centre), speaks to reporters after yesterday’s press conference about the “2nd Edition of the Professional Skills Competition of Macau Tourism and Leisure Operators”. Photo: Prisca Tang
