KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — The Social Security Organisation (Socso) today entered into a partnership with the SME Association of Malaysia and five private higher learning institutions (IPTS) to build long-term cooperation related to Socso’s social security protection, including active labour market programmes.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed virtually between Socso and SME Malaysia, along with Taylor University, HELP University, INTI International University and Colleges, University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said it supported social security protection among small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including assisting workers to reenter the job market.

"The long-term cooperation between Socso, employers and the universities aims to increase the employment placement rate of graduates through the active labour market programmes by Socso,” he said in a statement.

Through the MoU, Socso hopes to reduce the mismatch between the skills provided by the university and the skills required by employers, he added.

 About 150,000 formal workers have lost their jobs while over 768,700 individuals remained unemployed during the Covid-19 pandemic as of July this year. — Bernama