The present 103 community colleges have achieved a marketability level of up to 97.2 per cent for their graduates, he said. “It is an impressive achievement. It shows they have no problem at all to get jobs.”

Speaking after opening a convocation ceremony for community colleges in Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan here, Idris said the community colleges should continue to enhance cooperation with industry to be able to know the changing needs and requirements of the sector.

“As of middle of last year, I was informed that 1,850 graduates of community colleges were able to get placement at the various economic corridors in the country, including 700 people at Iskandar Malaysia, 300 people at the East Coast Economic Corridor and 400 people at the Northern Corridor Economic Region,” he added.

He said the ministry was also looking into expanding a project for community college students to build houses for the poor. “So far, we have built 18 Community Houses in Besut,” he said.