GEORGE TOWN, Jan 19 — The Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) has strengthened the talent ecosystem in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) to spur economic recovery via its integrated human capital programmes and address unemployment issues in Penang.

In a statement, NCIA chief executive Datuk Seri Jebasingam Issace John said the foremost priority in 2021 is to help expedite socioeconomic recovery by implementing the NCER Strategic Development Plan 2021-2025 as well as to ensure a quick and visible impact on the ground.

“The success of NCER’s integrated human capital programmes as well as strategic investments and high impact projects are catalysts for NCER to be a World Class Economic Region and Technology Hub,” he said.

Its fast-track human capital programmes JomKerja@NCER and JomNiaga@NCER have successfully encouraged companies to retain their workers and continue the hiring process through the various incentives on offer.

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As at the end of 2020, 53 local and international companies operating in the NCER have received over RM10 million in incentives by participating in JomKerja@NCER and hiring from the programme’s talent pool, subsequently creating over 2,000 jobs.

JomNiaga@NCER, which focuses on the informal sector to generate income and entrepreneurial activities, has benefited over 900 youths, women, small traders and retrenched workers in the B40 category via modular technical and semi-technical training courses with e-commerce entrepreneurship training for up to three months.

By the end of last year, over 300 participants of the programme landed jobs in the manufacturing, F&B, telecommunications, logistics, wellness & beauty, automotive and crafts sectors while a further 573 participants became entrepreneurs under the programme.

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Another component of NCER’s integrated human capital programmes, “empowerNCER Skills and Entrepreneurship” has benefited close to 2,000 participants from among the youth, women and unemployed graduates in Penang.

From this number, close to 200 participants of this programme succeeded in increasing their income by more than 20 per cent, while its entrepreneur development programme saw close to 200 participants expand their businesses into e-commerce and over 550 participants have successfully been placed in employment.

It said close to 800 entrepreneurs under entrepreneurNCER have received interest subsidy on their loans amounting to RM1.7 million under the NCIA-Maybank & NCIA-Agrobank Entrepreneur Scheme up to December 31, 2020. — Bernama