Today, HR minister (does he look younger by 30 years now? ) announced a program called GEP – Graduate Employability Program, a special training program  to “equip fresh and unemployed graduates with skills required by the industries”. RM10.5 million had been allocated and is managed by PSMB (HRDF).  There are six main skills to be focused on: ICT; competencies; transferable skills which include communication, analytical thinking and problem-solving; relevant working experience; exploring new route for their career; and job placement. The target group would be diploma and degree holders who had been unemployed for at least three months after graduation.

“The GEP’s aim is to increase the skills and competencies of graduates to prepare them for the job market with higher salaries and to assist the less fortunate graduates who cannot find employment due to lack of skills,” he said when launching the GEP here.

…”We will select the first batch of 1,000 graduates for this programme and they will undergo training between five and six months,” the minister said.

He said the training would include three components – classroom training; attachment; and job placement.

“The attachment component provides hands-on learning environment and because of on-the-job experience, it makes its easier for trainees to apply what has been learnt in the classroom to where they are attached to,” he said.

He said the government would bear the course fee for the graduates who would also be paid a monthly allowance of RM500 during the training.

He said on completion of the GEP, the trainees would secure employment almost immediately.

Great news indeed. No doubt about it. I’m happy for the graduates who couldn’t/didn’t/wouldn’t  learn proper stuff in IPTA/IPTS due to a variety of reason (wrong course, outdated syllabus, personality problem, laziness, not focused, language problem, lecturer not good, AUKU, etc.) being given second chance.

You can download the form from HRDF website (but its not available or I can’t find it, as of 12.45am 18 July 2010)

But aren’t there similar schemes already? Remember GEMS?

The Graduate Employability Management Scheme (GEMS) is a government capacity building initiative to equip unemployed graduates with commercially useful skills and experiences that would enhance their employment opportunities. It is part of the RM7 billion stimulus package announced by the then Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Razak (who is currently the Prime Minister), to keep the economy of the country ticking. GEMS is expected to train up to 12,000 graduates over a period of two (2) years.

This progamme is based on the Graduate Employability Enhancement (GREEN) Programme which was organised by Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) with the support of various Government-linked companies (GLCs). Moving forward, Khazanah was given the mandate by the Government to manage GEMS and support the government’s initiatives to reduce unemployment among graduates. Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Razak launched the GEMS Programme on 13th March 2009 in Putrajaya.

Responsibilities

• The GEMS programme is divided in two parts. in the first part, graduate will undergo a two and a half -months in-house training whereby they will be exposed to skills and qualities that will help improve their confidence and ability to communicate, as well as to manage tasks and responsibilities that are importatnt in their work life.
• This will followed by a six-month on-the-job training at various organisation and institutions including GLCs under the second part of the programme. it will provide valuable working experiences and knowledge to support the participants’ future growth.

Requirements

• Open to Malaysians who have graduated with recognised Degree.
• Fresh graduates/Entry level applicants are encouraged to apply.
• Obtained a minimum CGPA rating 2.5 or its equivalent.
• Applicants must be below 27 years old.
• Applicants with academic qualifications higher than a Bachelors’ Degree are not eligible to apply.
• Applicants must be willing to undergo on-job-training at participating organization nationwide.

Allowance

Participant will receive monthly allowance of RM1000 during the training programme.

You can read about GEMS at its official website GEMS Portal.

How about Train and Place?

PROGRAM TRAIN AND PLACE SECARA PERCUMA

KEMENTERIAN SUMBER MANUSIA (KSM) mempelawa warganegara Malaysia yang berkelayakan untuk memohon bagi mengikuti Program Train and Place yang dilaksanakan bagi mempertingkat dan menjamin peluang pekerjaan

kepada warganegara Malaysia.

Syarat dan Kelayakan

1. Program ini terbuka kepada :

i. Pekerja yang diberhentikan

ii. Siswazah menganggur

iii. Belia Menganggur

2. Pemohon perlu terlebih dahulu berdaftar dengan portal JobsMalaysia di www.jobsmalaysia.gov.my

Tempoh Latihan

Latihan akan dijalankan pusat latihan yang dilantik oleh Kementerian Sumber Manusia bagi tempoh 1 hingga 6 bulan

Cara Memohon

Permohonan hendaklah menggunakan Borang Permohonan yang disediakan seperti dilampirkan atau secara on-line melalui portal www.jobsmalaysia.gov.my.

Yuran Latihan / Elaun Sara Diri

1. Yuran latihan adalah ditanggung oleh Kementerian Sumber Manusia

2. Pelatih akan diberikan elaun sara diri minima RM500.00 sebulan.

Alamat

Borang Permohonan yang telah lengkap diisi hendaklah dikemukakan ke alamat berikut :

Ibu Pejabat

Jabatan Tenaga Kerja Semenanjung Malaysia

Aras 5, Blok D3, Parcel D

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan

62530 PUTRAJAYA

Pertanyaan

Sebarang pertanyaan boleh dikemukakan melalui talian 03-88889111 (Bahagian Perkhidmatan Pekerjaan)

Yeah, there are some similarities and also differences (allowance, duration, location of training among them) between the programs (bro Novinthen says its different scope and agenda). For me, its just some minor differences which can be streamlined. I hope the poor graduates are not confused on which to apply for. As it is, they graduated with much difficulty form IPTA/IPTS and under pressure from not securing a job. They may end up applying for all schemes, and create unnecessary paperwork for the staff. Maybe the ministry should think about consolidating the schemes. Maybe can save some money too. Saving money schemes (especially the ones that don’t involve price hikes -i used price hike because its shorter to type than the s-u-b-s-i-d-y  r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l-i-s-a-t-i-o-n  or  u-p-w-a-r-d  p-r-i-c-e  a-d-j-u-s-t-m-e-n-t ) would be liked by rakyat.