KUALA LUMPUR: Companies found taking advantage of the 1Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M) programme to hire youth without training them to boost their skills and employability have been warned with stern action.
SL1M secretariat head Norashikin Ismail said she viewed the matter seriously as the programme was aimed at assisting job seekers and unemployed graduates.
The programme, which was established in 2011, is an initiative under the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department and is designed to provide training opportunities for graduates in order to improve their marketability for employment.
Norashikin said they have found complaints on social media about companies taking advantage of job seekers and they were currently investigating the matter.
“We will not hesitate to initiate legal action on any companies who have misused the SL1M platform or misused our branding to deceive the public,” she said.
“If these companies were those bidding for government tenders, their names will be blacklisted. The companies might also be named and shamed to warn other jobseekers,” she said, and if the companies were job recruitment agencies, the SL1M secretariat will work with the Human Resources Ministry to have their licenses revoked.
Norashikin said the secretariat had received about 10 complaints on these companies from their checks on social media, who she believed were professional scammers, and these cases are alleged to have been going on for about two months already.
“We have heard that there are companies who hire these youths and offer them a data-processing job for a small salary and even cut their allowances, and ask them to do all sorts of menial tasks. This is not the purpose of the programme,” she said during a press conference to announce the next leg of the SL1M programme.
Norashikin said the complaints involve companies who have registered to participate in the SL1M programme but did not have a proper training programme, companies who did not register but misused the SL1M platform, and companies who claimed to be subsidiaries of well-known companies to hire these unsuspecting and desperate job seekers.
She said the SL1M programme was meant to give trainees soft-skill training and exposure on real working experience so they would be ready to work for the industry.
“It is a programme to fill up the gaps on producing graduates who could cater to the needs of the industry as the students do not get exposure to these skills during their studies,” she said.
Under SL1M, trainees do not have to pay a single cent as the training modules and costs are borne by participating companies.
“I urge all trainees who feel that they have been victimised by these companies to come forward and report it to SL1M secretariat,” adding that reporting it to the proper channel will allow them to investigate further on the matter.
Norashikin said the youth need not be afraid to report the matter as SL1M will not allow for bullying of the job seekers to continue.
SL1M is entering the last leg of its programe for this year after a nationwide tour. The upcoming open interview session will be held at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Perak on Sept 23 and Sept 24.
The programme will provide about 11,000 job opportunities from about 60 participating companies.