KOCHI: The District Employability Centre (DEC) has its eyes set on touching the benchmark figure of 10,000 placements this year, even as it is all set to hold the third edition of its mega job fair, brand-named ‘Niyukthi’, this Saturday.
In the three years since its inception as one of the flagship initiatives under the Labour Department’s Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence, DEC Ernakulam has facilitated close to 8,000 placements out of the 13,000 job aspirants registered with it.
DEC may even touch or at least come close to the landmark figure of 10,000 in the third edition of Niyukthi.
However, there remains a huge disparity between vacancies and favoured jobs. “Most vacancies are reported by sales and marketing companies, whereas the greatest demand is for jobs in Information Technology and technical fields,” said Niphy Beena Cherian, senior counsellor at DEC. She attributed aspirants’ reluctance to take up sales and marketing jobs to taxing field work and pressure for achieving targets.
Aspirants who are less than 35 years old may register with the DEC by making a one-time payment of ₹250. There will be a three-day training programme on attending interviews and group discussions and preparation of CV. Training in basic IT will also be provided to the needful.
“We organise at least three small monthly job fairs attended by five to six regional companies either at the DEC or at employment exchanges across the district. One annual mega job fair, Niyukthi, attended by close to 10,000 candidates and 50 to 75 companies will be held in addition to mini job fairs by the name ‘Lakshya’ every quarter,” Ms. Cherian said.
Registered candidates will be eligible to attend every placement drive organised by DECs across the State about which they will be informed through email and SMS. Candidates looking for better jobs can approach the DEC for success in interviews even after they complete training and gain placements.
Ernakulam was one of the first districts to receive DECs along with Kozhikode and Kollam in 2013. This was followed by Kannur, Palakkad, Kottayam, and Alappuzha in the years since. DECs will be set up in Malappuram and Thrissur this year.
