Labour Department employment division director Ahmad Mudi Onn Nor said since its inception, the ELX has recorded 297,173 new registrants for jobs while employers registering in the free online job portal stood at 66,423.
"There are still 1,559,355 job vacancies to be filled up," he said, adding that the number of registrants by job seekers and employers had been on the increase since 2004.
The Job Clearing System (JCS), a primary application in the ELX, will ensure manpower utilisation is optimised through its systematic matching of job seekers to job vacancies.
JCS is also able to provide current labour market information and analysis.
Register online anywhere, at any time, at your convenience. The system assists employers to find the right candidates for their jobs!
With such instantaneity, mobilisation of manpower is enabled between states and regions.
The ELX registers both employers and employees who are then matched online respectively.
Suitable employees will be aptly matched with potential employers according to their employability status.
The moment the match is done, the candidate will be contacted for an interview.
The ELX is in line with the e-Government initiatives and aimed at improving the mobilisation of the nation's human resources between regions.
It optimises the deployment of national human resources through a systematic matching of job vacancies and candidates; and to be a one-stop reference centre for the national labour market information.
Free for both potential employers and employees, the JCS Portal can be accessed through www.elx.gov.my or www.mohr.gov.my.
On the ELX website, look out for the poll where you are able to vote on the services provided.
The number of visitors to the website are also noted. So far, the total visitors to the website is at about 10 million with over 4,000 recorded each day.
Ahmad Mudi Onn said the ELX had been successful but hoped employers registering vacancies and short-listing candidates would provide feedback to the department on its shortcomings to make the necessary improvements.
He expressed disappointment that registered employers had yet to get back to them on what needed to be done to ensure job seekers are gainfully employed which was the main objective of the ELX.
When contacted recently, an employer who had registered through the ELX had stated that the company could not employ anyone registered with the online job portal, as the qualification stated did not meet the requirements of the job.
"Our jobs need special qualifications and there are not enough details of their qualifications in the ELX," the employer stated.
Another employer stated that many online job seekers were short-listed for interviews for various posts but failed in the one-to-one interviews.
"When this happens, we get to the Labour Department directly to shortlist other candidates registered with them," he said, adding that they had found employees this way.
Even the Human Resources Ministry utilises the ELX and the JCS application to post up vacancies.
The ministry's main objectives remain in helping and encouraging job seekers and employers to find local placements and to reduce the number of foreign workers.
ELX is not just for graduates or the inexperienced; employees currently working also can keep their options open.
At the ELX, potential candidates are matched to employers for varied reasons. Factors like salary, physical and mental capabilities, among others, contribute quite significantly to an employer's decision whom to employ for the job.
Thirty-eight offices nationwide are also used for employers to conduct interviews and for the officers to do manual follow up sessions with promising candidates.
Apart from that, the ministry dispatches staffs from their career and counselling unit to schools, especially secondary schools, targeting students who are about to sit for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysian (SPM) examinations.
The unit advises on the types of jobs that await the students upon majoring in specific subjects and courses.
College and university students are also visited to provide career counselling.
Since there are so many institutions throughout the nation, the talks are planned in stages.
Students need to know what academic majors will allow them to work in certain fields they are interested in.
Last year, the annual job carnival was such a success that many private colleges tied up with the organisers to bring in the targeted audience.
Like the ELX system online, potential hiring companies are highlighted to the job seekers.
Other job advertisements do not state the employers who are hiring, leaving the candidates clueless.
The Government, too, held monthly job carnivals this year where district and state levels organised them for job placements including for university students with the cooperation of the universities.
Every state is required to stage at least one job carnival. In addition, a total of 72 mini carnivals are planned and arranged at the district level.
Last year, six universities were involved in the annual job carnival.
Since February this year, four universities have held the carnival namely Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor (KUIS) with more to come by the end of the year.
The exposure gained at the job fairs relates to soft skills, one undeniable expertise proven to be very essential to succeed in corporations today.
This will help candidates to get good jobs and also convince potential employers to take in graduates.
The Government also sees the ELX as a social contribution to the people.
The ministry has catered to the disabled with the Sistem Penempatan Orang Kurang Upaya (SPOku).
A system similar to ELX, it focuses more on the requirements of the disabled as part of the Government's effort to push for higher employment rates for the disabled.
Those with less significant disabilities have a choice of either job searching via the JCS or other private recruitment agencies.
In addition to that, the ELX stations at the job carnivals are also user friendly to the handicapped, with audio speakers for narration.
There have been favourable response received at SPOku booths, showing that there is some degree of success here.
Planning is already in the works to strengthen the ELX by making it easily accessible to the public.
There are plans to have a network of ELX kiosks in post offices, LRT stations and shopping complexes.
Currently, there are three stations located at Bukit Bintang Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, in Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching. Another seven stations are already scheduled to be placed around the nation by the end of this year.
Altogether 10 kiosks have been planned nationwide with six in Peninsular Malaysia and two each in Sabah and Sarawak.
The kiosk at the Bukit Bintang Plaza operates seven days a week including on public holidays.
In the near future, when the public has become familiar with the station and the search processes, the services will also incorporate the use of text messages.
The ministry is also in discussion to have mobile job stations in the form of ICT buses with Internet facilities.
These plans, when coupled with newspaper advertising for job fairs, will become the utmost multimedia vehicle that will reach potential employers and employees everywhere.
This will be done so as to keep in touch with corporations that are highly active in seeking job seekers, with added focus and attention.
Autor(en)/Author(s): V.P. SUJATA
Quelle/Source: The Malaysia Star, 26.07.2007
