More than 400 employers have applied for subsidies under a government scheme to encourage hiring local workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Central District Social Services Consultative Council Deputy Convener Luo Ping quoted a Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) official as saying that about 870 employees were involved.
The application period for the temporary subsidy scheme has been extended to 31 March next year, and employers will receive a lump-sum subsidy of MOP 19,968 for each additional unemployed local resident hired.
Luo was speaking after the committee’s closed-door meeting with DSAL officials at the Patane Activity Centre yesterday.
Fellow committee member Tai Ka Peng underlined that in order to tackle the problem of unemployment, the bureau has launched job matching services.
Tai quoted a DSAL official as saying that in the first eight months of this year, 4,342 applicants for regular employment support services attended job interviews, of whom 1,148 passed the interviews, involving the construction, catering, security and cleaning, transport and retail sectors.
The DSAL officials also said that 38 matching sessions for specialist employment in various sectors were held between January and August, of which 1,343 applicants attended interviews and 728 of them passed.
The bureau has cooperated with Macao’s six gaming operators – SJM, Galaxy, Venetian Macao, Melco, Wynn and MGM – in organising matching sessions for interviews each month, Tai said, noting that 39 matching sessions were held in the first eight months, attended by over 4,000 interviewees, 453 of whom passed.
Tai also noted that the bureau has advertised job vacancies on the government’s Macao One Account since January, with 7,190 job seekers having been interviewed, with 537 having passed their interview via the platform. However, she said, in terms of large-scale job fairs jointly held by the bureau and the private sector in April, the matching rate was “not very ideal”, as only 639 out of 4,222 people had successful interviews.
According to the bureau, Tai said, in addition to job-seekers refusing the employment opportunities offered to them, 52 per cent failed in their interviews because of their lack of skills and knowledge, such as insufficient language proficiency.
Tai quoted the DSAL officials as saying that the bureau will launch more language proficiency training for employees in the future, The Macau Post Daily reported.
