JOB opportunities with the Yangon City Development Committee have risen sharply during the past 12 months because of urban re-development projects launched in preparation for Myanmar to host the ASEAN summit in 2006.

The number of projects launched in the past year was almost double that of the previous two years, said the head of the YCDC’s public relations and information department, U Hla Myint Swe.

The projects include a massive upgrade at Kandawgyi Park and the construction of a convention centre which will serve as a venue for the summit. The centre,
on Mindhamma Road, Mayangone township, was completed in early April.

U Hla Myint Swe said the projects had resulted in more job opportunities, especially for unskilled workers.

“Each department employs people separately but all the departments have reported hiring a lot more workers, particularly unskilled laborers,” he said.

The head of the YCDC’s playgrounds, parks and gardens department, U Nyunt Pe, said it had employed an extra 500 workers since work began on the Kandawgyi Park re-development project, bringing its total workforce to nearly 1500.

“We started the Kandawgyi Park developments at the end of 2002 and since then employment in the department has risen by almost 40 per cent,” he said.

U Nyunt Pe said many of the unskilled workers were hired for such tasks as gardening and brick-laying.

Most of the unskilled workers are employed on a daily basis but U Nyunt Pe believed they would all be retained by the department.

“Most [of the staff] will still be working with us after the [Kandawgyi Park] developments have finished in 2005, because there will be other projects for some of them to move to and the others will be offered short-term contracts to maintain the park’s gardens and paths,” he said.

YCDC officials and economists agree that the increased employment levels will last beyond the 2006 summit.

Dr U Maung Maung Soe, an economist and senior lecturer at Yangon’s Hlaing College said employment and development levels are at the start of a “catch-up” trend.

“A catch-up effect is what we see when development speeds up in a country like Myanmar, because of an event such as the Asean summit,” Dr Maung Maung Soe said.

“I certainly think it is true that employment in the [urban] development sector will have increased a lot as a result of the coming summit, and I think that this will give the economy enough of a boost to get some momentum going,” he said.

The head of the YCDC’s engineering (building) department, U Zaw Win, said the race to meet project deadlines for the summit was a major factor behind the rise in job opportunities.

“Labour levels are directly related to time limits and to how many buildings will be constructed,” U Zaw Win said.

“When you want things done fast, you employ more people than you would need to if you had more time. Even though these developments would always have happened, if it weren’t for the summit then levels of employment would not be so high,” he said.

U Zaw Win also believes that job opportunities in the YCDC for unskilled workers will remain high after the summit.

“I think that the employment levels we have seen will be sustainable after 2006 as the economy will have been given that nudge and on a grass roots level we will need workers to help with the maintenance,” he said.

Dr Maung Maung Soe said as employment levels rise and Myanmar’s economy gains momentum, there will be fewer job opportunities for workers with no formal training.

“At the moment our country is developing and the increased employment levels are a good sign, but as the country moves forward, these people will need to make the effort to change from being unskilled to acquiring a formal skill,” he said.

“So while we are enjoying this increase in jobs, we should also remind workers that becoming qualified in some way, and investing in their education is the next step up.”

Dr Maung Maung Soe said the preparations for the summit had highlighted the benefits that regionalisation can have for Myanmar workers and national development.

“As we increase our economic ties with surrounding countries, Myanmar workers will find themselves in an increasingly stable economic position,” he said.