The District Employment & Counselling Centre, Kathua, today organised a mega job fair under the theme "One Platform for Employment and Entrepreneurship" to connect unemployed youth with prospective employers and promote wage and self-employment opportunities.
The event was inaugurated by Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Sharma, who encouraged youth to participate in employment-oriented programmes and make use of opportunities provided by the government. Citing the potential of Mission YUVA in promoting entrepreneurship, he urged aspiring entrepreneurs to avail the scheme's benefits for establishing sustainable self-employment ventures and called on participating companies to provide quality employment opportunities to deserving candidates.
He also interacted with participating youth and urged them to upgrade their skills in line with evolving job market demands. The job fair drew over 350 unemployed youth and students from across the district, with 19 companies offering more than 650 vacancies across sectors including sales, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, technical operations, engineering, finance and insurance.
Assistant Director Employment Piyusha Khajuria, in her welcome address, highlighted the department's efforts to enhance youth employability through placement assistance, career counselling, skill development and entrepreneurship promotion. A Mission YUVA Help Desk was set up to provide on-the-spot counselling on self-employment opportunities, project formulation and credit linkage.
Sanction letters were distributed to around 10 Mission YUVA beneficiaries during the programme. The district recently sanctioned more than 90 Mission YUVA cases in a single day. Beneficiaries also shared their success stories and encouraged other youth to explore entrepreneurship as a career option.