The campus placement season is at its peak and many students are landing their dream jobs but for students of colleges in rural parts of the State, the scene is not so rosy. In this situation, entrepreneurship is quickly emerging as a significant alternative and government agencies are also stepping into the act. Very soon, youth across the State will be trained in gold appraisal techniques, internet marketing strategies and offered mentorship to start their own enterprises. Nearly 50 per cent of the beneficiaries of these programmes will be women, said officials from the Entrepreneurship Development Institute, an initiative by the State government.
The department has introduced a slew of measures to encourage youth across the State to start various spread the idea of starting enterprises. “Now that many firms have begun to offer loans, often with gold as collateral, there is a dire need for people who can evaluate the value of gold correctly. So, we have launched week-long programmes on gold appraisal. Now that many firms have started offering bank loans, the need for people who can evaluate gold correctly is only going to increase,” said an official. These programmes are to be held in most districts of the State. “There has been much demand for these programmes,” he added.
Experts are of the opinion that these programmes will be very helpful in ensuring that at least some of the students in colleges in towns and rural areas are placed. Entrepreneurship cells have been established in many colleges. While those in the cities collaborate closely with companies, the one in rural areas are yet to find support.
Bucking the trend
“We recently started tie-ups with management institutes who provide us training in areas of accountancy. This kind of training can help some students come together and form companies. The job market is not very bright in the southern parts of the State; hence students must be encouraged to start their own enterprises and they should be trained in those skills,” said N. Anbuselvi, a faculty at a college in Erode.
Additionally, graduates from colleges will be trained in making websites for companies and web technologies to market them. “Every company depends on a host of other companies to market its products online. It is a growing area and is here to stay. Students will be taught the basic online marketing strategies and they can start operations right away,” the official added.
These training programmes, along with many others will be held in smart classrooms at a modern training complex of the EDI that will come up in the city shortly. “This is a new facility worth Rs 4.88 Crore. The place will also have hostel facilities so that people from all areas can come and participate.”
