Indus Valley Times

By Mahendra Darjee

Sambalpur, Jan 23: Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan has said the government’s resolute dedication to shaping a Viksit Bharat is vividly demonstrated at Kaushal Mahotsav in Sambalpur with thousands of youths getting job opportunities. 

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), organized the Kaushal Mahotsav at Dhankauda Field in Sambalpur on Sunday and empowered the Yuva Shakti with diverse employment and apprenticeship opportunities to make them part of the future of work.

While addressing the crowd at Kaushal Mahotsav, Pradhan said, “Under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi jee, the unemployment rate has decreased from 6% to 3.2% which bringing us closer to our dream of providing jobs to crores of youth a reality. The recent launch of Skill India Digital (SID) stands as remarkable example of our vision of building a robust skilling infrastructure which is providing job assistance to 22,000 state beneficiaries, thereby, bridging the skill gaps at grassroot level. Over the last 5 years, the Skill India programmes like Kaushal Mahotsav, have empowered youth in the state.”

 “Skill development is the backbone of all national missions and also for the development opportunities in Odisha, serving as the catalyst for transformative growth. The government has undertaken several recent projects and announcements to fortify this foundation, ensuring that the state is equipped with a skilled workforce ready to contribute to its progress,” he added.

Sambalpur MP Nitesh Ganga Deb, Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly Jaya Narayan Mishra, Rengali MLA Nauri Nayak and NSDC CEO Ved Mani Tiwari were, among others, present on the occasion.

Around 8000 candidates had registered for the Kaushal Mahotsav, of which 4000 turned up during the employment drive and a total of 1095 candidates, including 5 differently abled were given a letter of intent with an average salary range between INR 1.4 lakhs to INR 5 lakhs per annum were shortlisted.

There were 50% vacancies filled by local industries and employers which indicates the enhanced demand for skilled talent that caters to the needs of the industries and make a positive impact in boosting the productivity, efficiency and growth of the organization.

The mega job fair was a unique example of public-private partnership and was attended by leading organizations like Shahi Exports, L&T Finance, Reliance Jio, Beck & Pollitzer, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, and Health Care at Home.

After receiving the job letters, candidates expressed their excitement and acknowledged that job offers received at Kaushal Mahotsav will expedite their professional growth, facilitates hands-on experience in real-work environment and builds knowledge and skills that needed  to lead a thriving career in a chosen field. The candidates were provided jobs across roles like registered nurse, student apprentice, care giver, general duty assistant, assembly line operator, sales executive.

Moreover, the candidates also got an opportunity to take a free psychometric test and participate in group counselling to get a better perspective on shaping their careers. Registrations for fresh skilling & reskilling under different schemes of MSDE and NSDC were highlighted and Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) also participated to elevate awareness about the evolving landscape of the future of jobs.

It connects jobseekers with employers from within and outside the Odisha to reduce the skill gap by imparting domain knowledge and technical skills coupled with job prospects to the youth and facilitates their smooth transition from education to employment.

So far, NSDC has generated a network of 450+ employers and aggregated over 1,88,000 job vacancies and has successfully registered 1,00,00+ candidates across the country through organizing fairs across different locations of the country. The candidate who missed leveraging the opportunities were informed to register on NSDC online job portal at https://www.nsdcjobx.com/ and apply for opportunities to keep looking for suitable jobs and also avail of the option of online counselling.

National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is the principal architect of the skill ecosystem in the country. It is a unique Public Private Partnership (PPP) enterprise working under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India. It provides support to enterprises, start-ups, companies, and organizations that are creating an impact by offering a world of opportunities in futuristic skills to the potential workforce.