TANJUNG MANIS: A community development programme aimed at equipping rural residents with skills, expanding employment opportunities and improving livelihoods was held at Kampung Sebayang here today.
The Tanjung Manis Bina Komuniti 2026 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Programme also provided local residents with exposure and training in construction related skills.
Tanjong Manis MP and Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) chairman DatukYusuf Abd Wahab said the programme reflected an approach to development that placed emphasis on building human capital alongside physical infrastructure.
“True development is not measured only by the buildings, roads and bridges that we construct, but also by the people we empower, the skills we develop and the opportunities we create to improve lives,” he said.
Yusuf said this when officiating at the programme, themed “Building Skills, Empowering Community”, at Kampung Sebayang Hall here.
The programme provided training opportunities through a collaboration with Akademi Binaan Malaysia (ABM), including courses in Building Decorative Painting Level 1 and Rooftruss Installer.
Yusuf said young people equipped with skills and competencies would have greater opportunities to secure employment, increase their income, become skilled workers or eventually establish their own businesses.
“No skill is insignificant when it has the ability to change a person’s life,” he said.
He added that skills based training should be viewed as a career pathway with future prospects rather than a last resort in the job market.
The success of such programmes, he said, should be measured by their long term impact, including whether participants continued to apply their skills, improved their competencies and secured better employment or income opportunities.
“We do not want to merely organise programmes. We want to create an impact,” he stressed.
Apart from skills development, the programme also involved efforts to repair and upgrade facilities at Kampung Sebayang Community Hall and Sekolah Kebangsaan Mupong.
Yusuf said community development required cooperation among CIDB, ABM, Puspanita, government agencies, community leaders and local residents to create a more comprehensive ecosystem for community empowerment.
