Managing Director for the State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) Hassan Mughunee has said that the goal of the temporary jobs opened up by STELCO is to provide employment opportunities for youth who have lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

STELCO recently opened up the opportunity to register and work with them as independent workers on various projects, for whom wages will be distributed daily based on a set framework. STELCO has revealed that workers can sign on with them for a week or two as well, if they are seeking short term employment opportunities.

Speaking on Raajje TV's "Fala Surukhee" programme, Mughunee said that STELCO's main goal in opening up the call for independent workers was to provide employment and income opportunities for youth seeking them. Mughunee added that the work did not require much commitment, and that youth would have the opportunity to work for a week or two, or even a shorter period, as suited to their needs.

Mughunee further revealed that STELCO prioritized Maldivian youth even for their contract work. He said that the company had made the decision to provide opportunities for youth left unemployed due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. He noted that the previous procedure would have seen STELCO assign work to a contract group who would have gone on to outsource the project to foreigners. Mughunee declared that STELCO now wanted to abolish that practice and have that income also flow within the Maldivian economy in stead of being recorded as an outflow of currency.

Mughunee went on to highlight some of STELCO's other efforts in providing employment opportunities to Maldivian youth. He noted that the company had been working with Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) to assign work to those serving sentences in prisons across Maldives as well.