Shareda may recruit 5,000 skilled workers from Palawan

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Housing and Real Estates Developers Association (Shareda) Council led by its president, Datuk Francis Goh, recently paid a courtesy call to the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) Sabah to search for practical solutions to the problems faced in the construction industry.

Among the matters discussed were still the same old pertinent issues plaguing the construction industry constantly i.e. the insufficient supply of skilled or semi-skilled workers, be it local or migrant workers from Philippines or Indonesia.

Hence, it is inevitably that the dependency on foreign workers is still steep over the locals who tend to shy away from these jobs, even though it is in abundance.

Goh remarked that CIDB has to work harder with the local community leaders or politicians to lure more local youths or school leavers from the rural areas to come out to register and reap the benefits of the trainings fully sponsored by CIDB and future job security.

This also includes being accredited and certified in the respective fields. At the same time, the employers must be tolerant and retain the newly trained construction personnel in their organisations to work and gain more experiences and skills in the respective fields.

Due to the shortage of construction personnel required by the stakeholders, Goh sought CIDB’s assistance to support his appeal to bring the matter up to the government to consider registering or legalising the illegal migrant workers or non-Green Card workers presently working in construction sites throughout the state.

Otherwise, he has to resort to other means by importing about 5,000 skilled workers from Palawan, Philippines to work in the construction sites to overcome the shortage as several high-rise property developments have been launched recently in Kota Kinabalu.

CIDB Sabah director Tuan Ir Haji Sharifudin agreed and will support Shareda’s initiative and appeal for the short-term measures to fill up the vacuum or shortage of skilled workers, provided the construction personnel must pass the skills accreditation exams or trained in the respective training centres to be eligible for Green Cards, and accreditation programmes besides other compliances to immigration laws and government requirements.

CIDB concurred to take the lead together with Shareda and other related NGOs i.e. Sabah Builders Association (SBA) to make an appointment for a joint courtesy visit to the director of Sabah Immigration Department to discuss issues and concerns pertaining to the importation of skilled workers to Sabah.

Goh reiterated that CIDB should strengthen their efforts to conduct more training courses for the local youths in the rural areas to acquire the skills for the needs of the construction industry. He vouched that once the locals are trained, jobs will be guaranteed, especially for those practical trainees attached to the work sites to be absorbed into the employment.

Shareda has 180 members to support the recruitment.

CIDB explained that its training arm, Akademi Binaan Malaysia (ABM), is prepared to provide skill building training to the human resource for the construction Industry wherever necessary at construction sites or training centres.

Sabah has four ABM training centres in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Kudat and Ranau.

Goh suggested that besides training, ABM Sabah must also keep abreast of new technologies and apparatus used in the construction site instead of the old methods of which should be incorporated into their training programmes to be effective and shorten the time for completion.

“Perhaps CIDB and ABM Sabah could organise an exhibition to showcase old and new methods, new technologies and apparatus used in the construction industry. Shareda and other related professional bodies or NGOs could also render their assistance towards the success of the expo,” he said.

Besides training the workforce in the construction industry, the stakeholders like developers, consultants, contractors should be trained too, and to understand the application of green tools for quality management of building projects, as most high-rise buildings in the property sector are gearing up to be ISO certified or star rated using tools.

Another initiative of CIDB is the transformation programme. The Shareda president has agreed to accept the invitation and to lead a delegation of property developers to sign the MoU with CIDB Sabah in response to the Pledge Statement Menu under the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP) in conjunction with their Seminar on Strengthening Quality Management of the Construction Industry and signing ceremony of the CITP pledge on June 2, 2016.

 

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