The Forest Department and District Employment Office have selected 84 tribal youth living in hamlets spread over Sathyamangalam Hills for employment in the plains.
At the end of a job fair involving 12 companies in Thalavadi on Sunday, the educated unemployed youth were given appointment orders for jobs in textile and marketing companies. Of the selected youth, more than 60 were given employment in spinning, knitting and other vocations in textile sector, said Vasudevan, District Employment Officer, said. All they had been looking for was an opportunity to move out of the hills and settle down in life, he said.
Educational qualifications of the nearly 550 participants drawn from forest fringe villages and tribal villages ranged from SSLC to degree.
The Forest Department had publicised the event through distribution of pamphlets and through the respective Block Development Officers. Over the last few months, District Collector S. Prabakar and senior Forest Department officials had been exhorting the village youth to take part in the programme.
District Forest Officer C.H. Padma, who inaugurated the job fair, said the purpose of the exercise was to create livelihood opportunities for tribal people.
According to Conservator of Forests I. Anwardeen, employment opportunities to youth in tribal hamlets in forest areas will enhance their socio-economic status and prevent their dependence on forests for livelihood. “This, in turn, helps wildlife conservation,” he said.
