A major hospitality and business events initiative for reviving employment in the Malaysian state of Penang gets under way 9-16 April. The Penang Career Expo, ‘Ekspo Jom Cari Kerja’, will run for a week at Penang Island and Mainland at St Giles Wembley and Ixora Hotel, respectively. The show is a community initiative by the Penang State Government through Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau (PCEB).
Main partners of the Expo are the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), the Association of ACTA Tourism Penang (ATAP), Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) and the Malaysian Association of Theme Parks and Family Attractions (MATFA).
With tourism activities in the state affected by the Covid-19 outbreak (including Penang’s domestic tourism spending falling for the first time in 13 years) and business events put on hold, a large number of employees in the hospitality and event sectors have been laid off. With recovery under way in the region, the aim behind the Penang Career Expo is to offer a platform for job seekers and talent scouts to meet and reconnect, to generate additional work opportunities in the broader tourism, events and hospitality industries
The Penang Career Expo is also aligning itself, organisers say, to the state’s Penang 2030 industry engagement initiatives.
The Rt. Hon. Chow Kon Yeow, chief minister of Penang, stated that, with new event spaces, hotels and attractions that are being developed in Penang, numerous high-value job opportunities in tourism and hospitality industry have been created. “However, due to pandemic, they may have trouble reaching out to eligible prospects. Hence, the expo will provide a platform for meeting potential employers,” the chief minister said.
