It Minister, Datuk Dr. Fong Chan Onn, said the decision had to be made even though it had proven to be effective in assisting graduates to secure employment.

"From a study conducted recently, 1,717 graduates or 74 percent of the 2,319 graduates surveyed had responded that they had obtained jobs now," he told the Parliament.  He was replying to a query by Bintulu Member of Parliament Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing on the steps taken by the Ministry to solve the problem of umemployed graduates in the country.

Between Jan 1 and March 12 this year, 19,836 graduates registered with the ministry through a registration exercise and through a job placement carnival or "Sure Kerja" that they organised at state level.

Other steps that had been taken was through the organisation of career guidance and counselling services to motivate graduates to take up any job offered for exposure and experience purposes.  The training scheme, meanwhile was launched on Nov 25, 2002 through a fund of RM140 million and meant to equip graduates with the necessary skills as required by employers.

Fields of skills offered under the scheme include executive developement program, English language, sales and marketing, information and communication technology, accountancy and business, Microsoft Certified System Engineer, Cisco Network and Professional and Linux System Administrator.

Emphasis was also given to the graduates' ability to communicate in English and analysing skills to raise their skills and confidence in meeting the needs of the job market.