Dr Jerip: Over 400 candidates advance to second round of Scat Fair interviews

KUCHING (Oct 6): A total of 423 out of 883 candidates who attended the open interview session held in conjunction with the Sarawak Career and Training (SCaT) Fair successfully advanced to the second round.

Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Dr Jerip Susil revealed this, based on the event’s record from Saturday until as at 11am today.

Dr Jerip, who is also the deputy chairman of Tabung Ekonomi Gagasan Anak Bumiputera Sarawak (Tegas), said more than 1,700 jobs from 30 companies across various sectors were offered to youths seeking employment during the SCaT Fair, through collaboration with the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

“The focus of this open interview session is to enhance income generation opportunities, while reducing the unemployment rate. It is also aimed at strengthening communication networks and information delivery, slated for groups at the grassroots level.

“Based on the records of the two-day event, a total of 883 candidates attended the interview session, and 423 candidates successfully advanced to the second round. Let’s give them a round of applause, and we hope they continue to succeed,” he said in his speech for the closing ceremony of the SCaT Fair 2024 at the Hikmah Exchange Event Centre here today.

Jerip expressed his gratitude to the Sarawak Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD), Tegas, as well as Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros), and Socso for their role in make the programme a success.

He noted that the Kuching edition of this year’s fair had exceeded its target of 12,000 visitors.

“From the opening ceremony yesterday (Oct 5) until as at 1pm today (yesterday), the total number of visitors reached 16,968. This is a truly remarkable achievement, and I once again extend my congratulations to the organisers for their hard work in ensuring the success of this programme.

“This exhibition demonstrates a high level of interest among the public and serves as an important platform to continue raising awareness about the importance of education and shaping the future careers of Sarawak’s youth, while also involving various sectors comprehensively.

The closing ceremony also witnessed the presentation of prizes to the winners of various competitions, including the Pastry Competition; Choral Speaking Competition; Make Up & Hairstyle Competition; Barber Competition; Sarawak Rising Star Competition; Cooking Competition; Tinywhoop Drone Race; Drone Master Challenge; and Robosoccer Competition.

Among those present were MEITD deputy permanent secretary Anielia Siam; Petronas general manager (Asset Integrity Management) Ramzienan Mohamad; Tegas Community Innovative Learning senior manager Fredick Kevin; Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak chief executive officer Ali Suhaili; and Petros external relations advisor Muammar Quaddafi Abdul Razak.