“It provides second chance to youngsters who have had to quit studies”
Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday called for creating an ecosystem to promote self-employment & continuous encouragement for the skilled youth in Jammu and Kashmir through programmes like centrally sponsored Himayat Programme, saying “we can reconstruct a better & more resilient workforce in J&K, which will also be able to bridge social inequality”
Speaking during Industry Connect Meet-Himayat 2020 organized by Himayat Mission Management Unit, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj here, Sinha said that Himayat Programme’ was a perfect example of great synergy between the government, training partners, job providers and the people.
“Himayat is an unprecedented initiative for those youngsters who have had to quit studies due to one reason or the other. It provides them a second chance to realize their dreams and earn a livelihood”, he said, as per an official spokesperson while addressing the gathering of representatives from over 60 organizations from private sector.
The LG, he said, observed that the Youth requires both conventional as well as evolving skills. The industry, demand and skill set requirements are changing at a faster pace. Since skill training can only be commensurate with levels of education, it is important to focus on the sectors, which are known to be employing a large workforce.
“For people under Himayat Programme, which covers youth between the age group of 15-35 years, in both Rural and Urban areas, technical as well as soft skill training which is basically a set of skills as defined by the World Economic Forum is a must,” Sinha said.
As per the official spokesperson, the LG said that in the coming days, we will have huge requirements of skilled workforce in Electricity, Gas, Water, Construction, Electronics, Wholesale and Retail Trade, E-commerce, Hotels, Transport, Information and Communication Technology, Finance and Insurance, Real Estate, IT enabled Services, Health and Social Services, Manufacturing, Horticulture, Education, Automobile and Packaged Food Industry.
He said that the LG observed that according to a global research firm, job opportunities for skilled, but inexperienced, workforce have increased from 43% to 67% between 2015 and 2019.
“Last year, under Himayat programme of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, youth were given skill training in 77 trades. Ubaid Hussain, of Baramulla, is one youngster who was trained under Himayat and is working as a robot operator at present,” Sinha said.
He also gave example of Meenakshi Devi, from a remote area of district Doda, who had to drop out of school due to some domestic circumstances.
“ Though she may have given up formal studies, she had not yet given up on her dreams. Himayat provided her with an opportunity to step out and get professionally trained in the hospitality sector. Today she is earning a living in Hyderabad,” he said.
The LG advised the skill training agencies to start providing training in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain and cyber security at the earliest after the COVID crisis subsides.
“We have to meticulously craft the skilling programme as per requirement with certain strategic interventions to ensure more and more people completing the training are immediately provided with jobs,” he said.
“It is estimated that 88,354 young boys and girls are to be trained within the next three years. More than 16 thousand candidates have been trained and more than seven thousand are already working in the private sector, all because of the Himayat programme. Big companies like Tech Mahindra, Amazon Pay, Greenply, Yazaki India, Apollo and others have recruited these candidates”, he added.
As per official spokesperson, it was informed that the Himayat Mission is also conducting counseling sessions and mobilization and promotion activities in association with the project implementing agencies in various villages.
He said that the LG also suggested for carrying out skill mismatch challenges in the villages and urban areas, to identify such youth who may be a perfect candidate for different dimensions of skill set and is keen to participate in innovative learning initiatives. This exercise may reshape the upcoming skilling and job market, he added.
“The LG observed that suggestions have already been made to the Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras to adopt Panchayats for facilitating and setting up food processing units in private sector. That is another opportunity to provide redefined skill training in this sector,” he said.
The official spokesperson further said that Sinha stressed on the urgent need of reallocation of activities and production factors in skill education programmes in face of the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.
“Since, pandemic is reconfiguring the society, job market and work culture, the industries and business leaders are looking for creative and innovative talents. With additional skill sets, Himayat programme can make the transition little smoother and easier for our youth,” LG said.
He said that Himayat can provide adequate and appropriate support for all future candidates, especially those who have been affected by global pandemic and belong to vulnerable section of the society.
“1500 candidates have been given job offers in two virtual job fairs. Today, more than 60 organizations are participating who have to see the training aspects of 54,000 prospective candidates, said the LG, as per the official spokesperson.
Relevant training is required for re-skilling and up-skilling of the existing skills-set of the youth, besides digital literacy will certainly enhance the job opportunities for the younger generation, he observed.
During the Industry Connect Meet, Four Panel Discussions on technical subjects were held covering various facets of Himayat programme including- Challenges and Opportunities in Himayat, Experience sharing by PIAs; Employment Sectors Post COVID 19 for DDUGKY Candidates, Employers Perspective, Innovations and Best Practices in Skilling Ecosystem, Experts Speak and Skilling the Youth of J&K – Roadmap from Prospective PIAs.
For Training, skill development and Industry Tie-ups, Himayat Mission Management Unit JKRLM signed MoUs with Instrumentation Automation Surveillance & Communication Sector Skill Council of India and Electronics Sector Skills Council of India.
Baseer Ahmad Khan, Advisor to the Lt Governor; BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary; Ms. Leena Johri, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, GOI; Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor; Ms. Sheetal Nanda, Secretary to the Government, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Kapil Sharma, COO Himayat; Representatives of Corporate Planning, Research, Skilling, Consulting, Sales and Marketing, Brand Management and Biotech Healthcare were present on the occasion.
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