PUTRAJAYA, May 3 — The Cabinet had on Wednesday discussed the graduates’ qualifications and skills mismatch in the job market, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said today.

According to Azmin, seven out of 10 of graduates were from the humanities courses, but cited six out of 10 job vacancies as being in the technical and vocational sectors.

“We need to look back at our education system, how the output from the education system would be able to meet the demands of the industries.

“This was our main focus... the special Cabinet meeting [on Wednesday] was to discuss on pressing issues,” Azmin told the media at a joint press conference between his ministry and the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry (MoA).

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When asked whether his ministry and the MoA had presented its policy papers to the prime minister, Azmin said only the Finance and the Human Resources Ministries had done so on Wednesday.

“Only two papers were presented, mainly the papers focused on the needs to look at the new concept of creating jobs for our youth,” he said.

On Tuesday, Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said that a special Cabinet meeting was to be held the following day, in which ministers would submit policy papers to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

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He said his ministry would present policy papers discussing the cost of living and ways to lighten consumers’ burdens.

Meanwhile, Azmin said the MoA would look into ways to develop abandoned and undeveloped federal lands for farming purposes, in a bid to boost the agricultural industry.

He said his ministry and the MoA were briefed on the many federal lands left vacant, with no existing plans to develop the lands in the coming years.

“We were not informed of the total area [of federal lands] that had been identified, but there are no plans to develop these lands in the near future.

“It is better that we develop these lands for the agriculture [industry] and with the skills and expertise of the Agriculture Ministry, they can determine the soil fertility for certain industries,” he said.

Datuk Salahuddin Ayub, who was also present at the joint press conference, added his ministry would look into cash crops, or short-term farming.

He said this includes planting of turmeric, ginger, and lemongrass and several other vegetables that would be carried out systematically.

The two ministries had met earlier to discuss on the strategic planning on how to develop the agriculture industry with the cooperation of the MEA.