KUCHING: More than 1,000 fresh graduates and school leavers as well as the unemployed are set to benefit from training and upskilling programmes in the state.

Under the Employ@SCORE programme, the participants will join value-added and industry driven training and upskilling modules provided by selected education and skills training institutions.

Funded by the federal government with an allocation of RM8 million, this one year programme will be implemented by Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA).

Upon the completion of the training, the participants will undergo a six months’ job placement programme with participating companies and investors in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) region.

SCORE is one of the five economic corridors in the country which extends  from the central region up to the northern region in the state with a land size of more than 100,000km².

RECODA is the authority which oversees the overall development of SCORE.

The programme’s launching ceremony, officiated by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Bin Tun Abang Haji Openg who is also the RECODA board chairman, was held on Friday afternoon at a leading hotel here.

Johari was represented by Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

RECODA also launched another programme, Community@SCORE, which aims to spur socio-economic development to improve the livelihood of the B40 group in areas under Upper Rajang Development Agency (URDA), Highland Development Agency (HDA) and Northern Region Development Agency (NRDA) as well as in Mukah and Simunjan.

Under this programme, a total of 82 projects have been identified which will benefit 650 participants throughout the SCORE region, serving various communities in the tourism, agriculture, retail and services as well as other focus industries.

This one year programme, with a funding of RM16 million from the federal government, has been implemented by various government agencies and closely monitored by RECODA to ensure the smooth implementation of the projects.

During the launching ceremony, RECODA also exchanged Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eight strategic partners to carry out talent development programmes.

The strategic partners are Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), University of Technology Sarawak (UTS), Sarawak Skills Development Centre (PPKS), Kuching Polytechnic, Centre of Technical Excellence (CENTEXS), Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) and TalentCorp.

Through this collaboration, RECODA hopes to prepare Sarawakian workforce with relevant skills and match them with industry players.

This is the second of such collaboration following an MOU with Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (CENTEXS) in Mukah in August last year.