KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Community Development Department (Kenas) is stepping up efforts to improve knowledge and skills among rural communities through skills education programmes.
Sabah Kemas director Ahmad Fakhrul Azman Muhammad Radzi said the programmes aimed to equip participants with the necessary skills and confidence to venture into business opportunities beyond their communities.
“Participants will attend classes over a one-year period, where they will receive basic skills training according to their interests, while opening up opportunities in entrepreneurship to generate additional family income.
“Among the popular skills courses are cooking, sewing, personal grooming and handicrafts, which continue to attract strong interest, particularly among women and housewives. Class sizes are also limited to ensure effective training before new participants are enrolled the following year,” he said.
Ahmad Fakhrul was speaking to the reporters after attending a Mini Convocation Programme organised by the Kemas Tuaran District Skills Education and Community Development Unit here, recently.
He encouraged members of the public interested in the skills courses to visit their respective district Kemas offices for further information.
He also said Kemas provided grants to graduates who wished to venture into entrepreneurship through its Quick Win initiative.
“Participants who have completed their training and successfully passed an interview are eligible to apply for a RM5,000 entrepreneurial starter kit grant.
“The assistance is tailored to their respective fields, such as sewing machines for sewing courses and ovens and mixers for cooking courses, subject to government allocations,” Ahmad Fakhrul said.
He hoped participants would seize the opportunities to develop their entrepreneurial potential through initiatives provided by Kemas and other government agencies.
At the ceremony, Chief Minister’s wife Datin Seri Juliah Salag officiated the convocation and presented certificates to 149 Kemas Tuaran participants who had successfully completed training in various skills fields.
