Azlan Othman

The latest labour force survey in Brunei Darussalam showed that the unemployment rate hit 8.7 per cent in 2018. Although this was down from 9.3 per cent in 2017, it was still the highest unemployment rate in Southeast Asia.

This was highlighted recently by the Asia Development Bank (ADB), in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020, which is ADB’s annual flagship economic publication.

The report also said that the unemployment rate among youth aged 15-24 increased from 28.8 per cent in 2017 to 29.9 per cent in 2018. By educational attainment, 40 per cent of the unemployed have tertiary education, or technical and vocational education and technical training (TVET).

High unemployment among TVET graduates and those with tertiary education indicates a mismatch between the skills and qualifications possessed by the local labour force and those demanded in the labour market.

The share of employment across sectors and occupations between locals and non-locals speaks of a need to identify and develop – in close consultation with the private sector – skills that are relevant to the demands of industry, both public and private. The country’s education system would be well-advised to take a fresh look at the knowledge and skills that it imparts.

The report added that in recognising this, the Brunei Government recently initiated several programmes.

To develop better vocational training and education, re-skilling, and the professionalisation of manual jobs, it established several initiatives such as the i-Ready Apprenticeship Programme, in addition to strengthening collaboration and engagement with industry through the Manpower and Industry Steering Committee.

These efforts are intended to ensure alignment between industry needs, in terms of numbers, qualifications and manpower supply, while addressing the current mismatch between general education, TVET training and the requirements of industry.

These programmes are aimed to help youth develop their skills and prepare for future employment. Further initiatives aim to develop aspiring entrepreneurs, such as those under DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) and the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MoFE), as well as the Entrepreneurship Innovation Centre under the Ministry of Education (MoE).

The recently concluded Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting highlighted findings from the Workforce Survey 2018 including the total workforce in the country being at around 201,700, with 72 per cent comprised of Brunei citizens and permanent residents, while the remaining 28 per cent were foreigners.

The majority of the employment is concentrated in the service sector (79.5 per cent), especially in public administration (22.9 per cent), and wholesale and retail business (12.7 per cent). Meanwhile, the rate of unemployment is at 8.7 per cent, which is a reduction from 9.3 per cent in 2017, which is 19,223 individuals, whereby 49.7 per cent are aged 25 to 64 and 50.3 per cent aged 15 to 24.

The LegCo meeting also highlighted the need for collaboration between all stakeholders and the public, given the high rate of unemployment in the country, to generate competent and employable human resources.

His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has given serious attention to the issue of unemployment, whereby His Majesty has consented to the establishment of the Manpower Planning and Employment Council (MPEC) under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), to tackle the issue effectively. Initiatives currently being carried out in the country to address the issue of unemployment can be summarised in three main aspects – supply, demand and enablers.

For the first aspect, several initiatives are currently being carried out to further strengthen the supply of local workforce to fulfil the needs of industries in terms of mindset and work ethics, and improving skills and competency through up-skilling and re-skilling.

The upskilling and re-skilling programmes are in line with the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution 4.0 and the Brunei Darussalam Economic Blueprint, to increase employment opportunities for locals. With regard to demand, initiatives are being implemented to focus on job creations such as reviewing and formulating policies, as well as workforce process and increase cooperation among ministries with the private sector, industrial sector and foreign direct investment companies, to generate economic growth and increase the number of quality job in public and private sectors.

Enablers involve activities of matching between supply and demand, including one-stop career centres, aligning, collection and verifying information of workforce for the use of human resource planning and infrastructure preparation.

Towards this, JobCentre Brunei has introduced several programmes including District Connect and Institution Outreach, aiming to disseminate its services such as curriculum vitae writing and interview tips.

Up to February 29, 2,484 graduates participated in the i-Ready programme, with 923 successfully to obtaining permanent employment.