Despite the economic downturn, the job market in the State has picked up. More and more people are gaining employment thanks to a novel system put in place by the State Government.
In place of the decades-old Government Employment Exchanges has come the Human Resource Centres. The spot employment system started by the previous government has now undergone several changes bringing together unemployed youth and the industrial and business houses. Also called “job melas” and “job fairs”, the spot employment system is stated to have gained countrywide attention and several States are seeking to follow the Karnataka model of providing employment to jobless youth.
Joint effort
Labour Minister B.N. Bacche Gowda and Union Minister of Labour and Employment Mallikarjun Kharge are working closely to bring about several changes in the recruitment procedures. The State Government, which had set a target to provide employment to two lakh youth during the year, has so far been successful in providing employment to 62,000 boys and girls with qualifications ranging from matriculation to postgraduate degrees.
Mr. Bacche Gowda told The Hindu that the Government was scouting for jobs for even those who had not cleared the tenth standard (SSLC) examination. “The Centre is ready to provide requisite funds to the States for skill development, and Karnataka has evolved schemes for optimum utilisation of the fund,” he said.
Mr. Bacche Gowda said plans were afoot to extend the Modular Employment Skills programme of the Centre across all the taluks of all the districts of the State. Under the scheme, unemployed youth are provided training in various fields in established industries and engineering colleges. The managements of such institutions are provided Rs. 15 per student per hour for training.
Full participation
A large number of industries and business houses, including leading computer software companies, are participating in the programme as a goodwill gesture towards solving the unemployment problem in the country. On completion of training, the youth may be either recruited by the company which provided them training or another in the same line of business. In Bangalore for instance, several leading garment units have come forward to provide skills to young unemployed women.
Mr. Bacche Gowda said the Government had conducted a string of job melas in ten districts so far. Those recruited ranged from doctors and engineers to security guards and helpers. The next job mela is scheduled in Shimoga shortly and in the coming months all the districts of the State will be covered, he said.
