Answer for Oral Question PL046

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Awang Zainol bin Haji Mohamed

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG ZAINOL BIN HAJI MOHAMED asked the MENTERI DI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI to state the plans to address the issues of underemployment and long-term unemployment among qualified locals who have been outside the labour market for a long time? What approaches are being taken to restore the employability, employer confidence and reintegration of this group into the economy?

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri

First of all, Kaola would like to explain that the Government indeed takes seriously the issues of underemployment and long-term unemployment among qualified citizens, particularly those who have been outside the employment market for a long time.

To assist the Government in addressing these issues, the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) was tasked by the Government to conduct a more in-depth study in 2025 to identify the causes of unemployment, including underemployment and long-term unemployment. The first phase of this study has been carried out and is expected to be finalised this year. The preliminary findings from the study indicate that one of the main factors identified as contributing to the issues of underemployment and long-term unemployment is a skills mismatch, or skills match, between the qualifications of job seekers and the employment opportunities available in the market.

In addition, differences in wage rates between the Government and private sectors were also identified as one of the factors that may influence the tendency of local youths to choose employment in the Government sector.

Furthermore, other contributing factors include a lack of work experience and the still-low level of awareness among job seekers regarding participation in skills enhancement programmes such as upskilling, reskilling and multi-skilling.

To address these challenges, the Government has implemented and is implementing several targeted measures.

First, the implementation of the Salary Guideline for 22 job families covering 100 positions, as a reference for private-sector employers in setting appropriate wage rates and to assist job seekers in understanding the market value of employment.

Second, the enforcement of the Employment Order (Minimum Wage) in seven industries, to ensure and balance the standard of living of workers, in line with best practices at the regional and international levels.

Third, through Pusat Pekerjaan Brunei, various employability enhancement initiatives continue to be intensified, including short courses under the SkillsPlus Programme and Program Insaniah, professional certification programmes such as SPIN in Accountancy, as well as competency enhancement programmes in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) funded by the Government.

For the information of Yang Berhormat, as of 31 December 2025, a total of 41 short courses had been conducted, with the participation of 876 participants.

In addition, a more targeted approach is also being implemented through career coaching, job matching based on practical skills, and individual skills gap assessments, to enable more focused career action plans to be developed for each job seeker.

At the same time, the findings of studies on employers’ needs are also shared with educational and training institutions to enable improvements to curricula and training programmes, so that they are more aligned with current industry requirements.

In conclusion, the Government will continue to work closely with industry and all stakeholders to ensure that the national workforce planning remains aligned with the needs of the economy, both in the short and long term.

Insya Allah, through this more integrated approach, efforts to enhance the employability of local youths and employers’ confidence in the local workforce can continue to be strengthened.