To ensure maximum possible selection of youth from Punjab State into Defence Services, a pre-recruitment training programme for the wards of ex-servicemen and others for entry into technical/non-technical trades of defense /Para-military forces has been initiated in various districts across the state. An amount of Rs.4 crore would be spent for this purpose during the year 2013-14.
Disclosing this here today, Chief Parliamentary Secretary S. Virsa Singh Vltoha said that the purpose of imparting training was to secure employment for Punjabi youth as majority of them came from rural areas with inadequate educational qualifications and could not qualify the entrance test for joining the armed forces.He said that this training was being imparted in selected districts under the supervision of district sainik welfare officers within the premises of sainik rest house complexes. Giving details of the scheme, Mr. Valtoha said that at present the wards of ex-servicemen and scheduled castes were provided free diet of Rs.60/- per day during the training period of six weeks. Besides, vocational training in Punjabi stenography/typing training was also being arranged at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Faridkot and Roopnagar to enable the ex-servicemen/widows and their wards to join class-III jobs in the state civil services where 13 percent seats has been reserved for them.
He also said that besides this computer training centers at Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Faridkot, Amritsar, Mukatsar, Hoshiarpur and Roop Nagar have been set up with a view to creating training facilities for the ex-servicemen/widows and their wards. He further said that six new computer centers would be opened at Bathinda, Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur soon.