: In 2021, Nurfatin Hamzah found herself among the fresh graduates and young people who struggled to find employment and often lost jobs due to the several phases of movement control orders imposed since March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We then discussed the idea of creating a mentorship programme which focused on sustainability under the Youths United For Earth in the first quarter of 2021), said Nurfatin, 28, during the ASEAN Green Jobs Forum 2024. “They have grown up experiencing the effects of climate change firsthand, which have led to a generation of workers who are more inclined to seek employment aligned with their social and environmental values.
Green jobs are meant to improve efficiency in the use of energy and raw materials, limit greenhouse gas emissions, minimise waste and pollution, protect and restore ecosystems as well as support adaptation to the effects of climate change. She said ILO estimates that 14.2 million jobs could be added in the region by 2030 if countries adopt changes in energy use that limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.
“It must be a ‘just transition’ with a clear positive impact on the labour market, which means that the burden of change that benefits everyone will not be placed disproportionately on a few,” Sakamoto added. According to the Labour Force statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia , Malaysia’s unemployment rate remained at 3.3 per cent in February 2024, registering a lower number of unemployed individuals at 567,000 persons compared to the 4.6 per cent and 733,000 unemployed persons registered in 2021.
Social Security Organisation Head of Employment Insurance System, Azirruan Arifin, told Bernama that there were about 30,000 green jobs available, according to data from MYFutureJobs last year. “Therefore, besides providing exposure to them, we also encourage companies to hire them to ensure they are given a second chance, thus reducing the unemployment rate among locals,“ he said.
As Malaysia positions itself to meet the demands of the green job market, Technical, vocational education and training institutions emerge as key players in nurturing a workforce capable of contributing to sustainable and inclusive development.