Chief Secretary, B B Vyas Friday chaired a meeting here to review the progress of flagship skill training and employment programme ‘Himayat’ being implemented by the Jammu & Kashmir State Rural Livelihood Mission (JKSRLM).Commissioner/Secretary, Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Mission Director, Himayat and other officers were present in the meeting.Under the remodeled Himayat programme, 1.24 Lakh un-employed youth of J&K will be provided skill training in various trades over a period of three years. The skill training courses shall be for duration of 6, 9 and 12 months. As on date more than 5040 youth have registered for skill training and employment under this programme across the state.The Union Ministry of Rural Development has selected three Champion Employers like Apollo Medskills Ltd, Surya Wires Private Limited, Manpower Group Service Pvt Ltd etc for providing training and in house employment to over 9200 youth of the state. The skill training of 338 youth has commenced from 17th of July, 2017.
To enhance employment opportunities for the youth, Chief Secretary observed that JKSRLM should focus on state specific sectors, where demand of skilled manpower is likely to enhance in the coming days. He outlined sectors like Hospitality, medical, nursing, tourism, Hydro Power, Railways, landscaping, construction etc as having rich potential of generating employment opportunities for the youth of the state.Chief Secretary asked JKSLRM to convene a roundtable meeting with regional heads of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) working in the state, officers of NIRD & PR and Union Ministry of Rural Development besides organising an interactive session with Kashmir and Jammu based Corporate Houses including companies associated with major projects in the state for imparting training to youth in a range of skills and their subsequent absorption in the ongoing and future projects.Chief Secretary observed that government is committed to channelize energies of youth and focus on their occupational aspirations through programmes aimed at skill and entrepreneurship development. He emphasized on post training tracking of the youth by developing an institutionalized monitoring mechanism.