BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

YOUTHS were yesterday urged to take the opportunities provided by the government to improve their employability instead of staying unemployed.

The Assistant Organiser of the Scaffolding Course at the Youth Development Centre (PPB), Ak Hj Shariffudin Pg Hj Zainal Abidin, was speaking to The Brunei Times at the agreement signing event.

The event saw 52 students and their parents signing an agreement with PPB and Blue Oceanic Management Services (BOMS).

“School leavers shouldn’t just wait for the government or private sector to call them for work; they need take the initiative to join some courses to improve themselves, be it theory or practical,” Ak Hj Shariffudin said.

“The students will be undergoing training related to scaffolds or staging for the use of construction. The Blue Oceanic Management Services (BOMS) will be the main conductor of this course,” he added.

“All, 100 per cent, of our graduates are working at the moment, most of them with the private sector and some with government. This is due to the fact that PPB provides the students with practical skills that are needed by the industrial sector.”

One of the participants of the course, Bulhassan Hussin, 22, from Kg Bengkurong, said, “It was an unpleasant experience being unemployed before. So I decided to participate in this course under PPB. Apart from the practical experience I can gain in construction, PPB has already assigned us for a job in the private sector.”

The applicants will all be undergoing five months’ of intensive training with four days at Outward Bound Brunei Darussalam (OBBD) in Temburong comprising two months in PPB and three months at the worksite.

The work placement is aimed at giving them additional practical training and experience especially of industrial work and the safety policy at the construction site. “We want them to become proficient workers who are committed, responsible and ethical,” said Ak Hj Shariffudin.

Attending as guest of honour at the event was the special duties officer at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Fakhriah Dato Seri Setia Hj Lamit.

The Brunei Times