More than 300 persons who lost their breadwinners due to COVID-19 and those who lost jobs during the pandemic secured placements in a job mela organised for COVID-19 victims here on Tuesday.
The placement drive was conducted by District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), of Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department, in association with World Vision, an NGO, said WD&CW Project Director (Krishna district) K. Uma Rani.
A.P. Skill Development Corporation district manager V. Koti Surya, who attended the programme, said the job mela for COVID-19 victims was the first-of-its-kind in the State.
Around 500 candidates, who had lost either both or one of their parents to COVID-19, and those who had lost their jobs during the pandemic, attended the job mela, Mr. Surya said.
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Ch. Vijay Kumar said more than 20 companies, including private automobile, health insurance, service sector, security and other companies offered jobs during the drive.
Job aspirants with educational qualifications ranging from SSC to PG, ITI, Diploma and other qualifications applied for various jobs. Representatives of the firms selected the candidates after conducting interviews, said World Vision district manager N. Joshi Babu.
“As per the directions of the Supreme Court, we visited some families who lost their parents or other family members due to COVID and studied their economic status which was deplorable. To improve their family conditions, the job mela was conducted,” Mr. Vijay Kumar said.
WD&CW Assistant Project Director S. Jaya Lakshmi said the candidates were selected for job mela through Village and Ward Secretariats. More placement drives would be conducted soon, Ms. Lakshmi said.
The COVID-19 patients, who lost their jobs and were undergoing a severe financial crisis, thanked the officers for conducting the job mela.
