The Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) said in a statement yesterday that it carried out about 950 vocational training courses last year, in which about 21,000 students enrolled.

The statement also pledged that the bureau will continue to offer vocational courses in different modes in line with the local labour market’s need.

The bureau will continue to provide diverse vocational training courses and skills testing, with the aim of creating highly qualified professionals for the city’s various sectors, thereby supporting Macau’s appropriate economic diversification, the statement said.

According to the statement, the bureau’s vocational training courses put special emphasis on professionalism, as well as equipping students with job skills that are useful for other occupations in addition to their current occupations. The statement said that the vocational training courses aim to enable students to “be more resilient in the job market which is subject to constant changes”.

With the aim of improving the English levels of Macau’s working population in compliance with the local government’s current tourism policy of expanding the international market, the statement said, the bureau will continue to offer courses that prepare students for tests of various English proficiency qualifications, such as Linguaskill provided by Cambridge Assessment English, as well as TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication).

With the local construction sector adopting various new construction technologies, the statement said, the bureau will continue to roll out a raft of courses in collaboration with the construction sector, such as building information modelling (BIM), prefabrication, and facilities management, as well as courses training qualified electricians.

The statement also said that the bureau rolled out a programme in 2015 that encourages enterprises to allow their staff to attend vocational training courses during their working hours, adding that the courses covered by the programme include facilities maintenance, culinary arts, as well as work ethics and professionalism for those working in the gaming sector.

The statement acknowledged that the city’s labour market was hard hit by COVID-19, because of which the bureau rolled out a programme in September 2020 that gives a subsidy to unemployed local residents who have completed a vocational training course and participated in the bureau’s job-matching sessions. The programme is still ongoing. 

This undated handout photo released by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) yesterday shows a course on a site in Cotai where construction workers were trained to hoist prefabricated components.