First impression counts. A shoddy presentation of yourself might just cost you your job. This is what Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar noticed about youths who come for government held job fairs. They fail to impress prospective employers because of their unkempt appearance, showing up in jeans and slippers and failing to bring along their most important documents like their ICs and resumes or copies of their diplomas.

The job fairs held in all states are intended to draw unemployed graduates into sectors they usually shy away from, like farming, direct sales, becoming factory supervisors or tourist guides. These fairs, with the cooperation of around 4000 employers, offer some 7000 jobs.

As for the skills retraining programme for unemployed graduates (open only to those with degrees or college diplomas, not PhD or Masters), Abdul Rahman said training providers who wish to join the scheme should apply to Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB). PSMB will then choose the institutes that have the experience and knowledge of running these courses. There are already 30 skills training institutes interested in holding courses. Their date of commencement would depend on when the Human Resources Ministry will the receive of RM100mil allocation from the Finance Ministry.