Kin of farmers who committed suicide to get career counselling

State government sets up first such guidance centre in Amravati

catching them young: The fully computerised Career Guidance and Counselling Centre has a target to reach 10,000 youths in the next two years.

Mumbai: Six months after Maharashtra organised a first-of-its-kind mega job fair called ‘Maharojgar Melawa’ for the families of farmers who had committed suicide, nearly 40 per cent of the youths and widows have left the jobs they landed through the fair.

The State has now roped in psychologists to provide career counselling to members of the farmers’ families, after global chains Café Coffee Day (CCD) and McDonald’s complained to the government of high attrition from the recruitment done at the event.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the first swanky Career Guidance and Counselling Centre (CGCC) in Amravati this week to cater to the six suicide-prone districts of Vidarbha.

Of the nearly 22,000 youths who had participated in the Maharojgar Melawa organised by the State on May 29, 2016, around 1,400 had landed jobs. CCD and McDonald’s had recruited 250 youths each. But a large chunk of the 1,400 has already left in the first six months citing lack of ‘dignity and respect’ in the workplace. Senior officials said the youths complained of low salary standards at the two companies, and that the meagre salary was not enough for them to cope with the demands of an urban life.

Amravati has seen a rise in farmer suicides along with Yavatmal, Washim and Akola districts. Between 2012 and 2015, an estimated 3,000 farmers committed suicide in the six districts of Vidarbha — Amravati, Yavatmal, Wardha, Washim, Akola and Buldhana — officials said.

The fully computerised centre has a target of counselling 10,000 youths from these areas in the next two years. “The CGCC has been constructed with the help of corporate social responsibilty (CSR) funds from the Tatas and will not burden us in anyway. It has been linked to the demands of the industry and matched with preferences of the youths from these families,” said Deepak Kapoor, principal secretary of the State skill development department

The centre will map the skills of the students at an early age, conduct psychometric tests and provide roadmaps for the demands of industries. “The psychologists will stay connected with them and give them regular updates on upcoming jobs. Most importantly, they will prepare the youths mentally for the hard labour needed for professional work,” said Ketan Deshpande of Fuel, the organisation which runs the first of the many proposed CGCCs.

At the job fair in May, the State had invited industries for placement drives and to set up vocational training providers (VTPs). The providers are linked to the data of youths who do not get a job at the fairs, but are interested in undergoing skill development training at the VTPs.

“The idea of such fairs is that if we are able to provide employment to at least one member of the family — the son or the widow — the families’ dependence on land and agriculture is substantially reduced. The fair may not stop suicides, but it will provide some relief,” said Mr. Kapoor.