Build ecosystem to promote self-employment: Sinha

The Lt Governor made these remarks during Industry Connect Meet-Himayat 2020, organised by the Himayat Mission Management Unit, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Addressing representatives from over 60 private organisations, Sinha termed the programme as a perfect example of great synergy between the government, training partners, job providers and people.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday evening called for creating an ecosystem to promote self-employment for the skilled youth in Jammu and Kashmir. Through the Himayat Programme, we can reconstruct a better and more resilient workforce in J&K which will also be able to bridge social inequality, he said. The Lt Governor made these remarks during Industry Connect Meet-Himayat 2020, organized by the Himayat Mission Management Unit, Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Addressing representatives from over 60 private organizations, Sinha termed the program as a perfect example of great synergy between the government, training partners, job providers and people. "Himayat is an unprecedented initiative for those youngsters who had to quit studies due to one reason or the other. It provides them with a second chance to realize their dreams and earn a livelihood,'' he said. The Lt Governor observed that the youth requires both conventional as well as evolving skills. The industry demand and skill set requirements are changing at a faster pace, he said, adding that since skill training can only be commensurate with levels of education, it is important to focus on the sectors which are known to be employing a large workforce. Sinha advised skill training agencies to start providing training in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain and cybersecurity at the earliest after the COVID crisis subsides. "We have to meticulously craft the skill program as per the requirement with certain strategic interventions to ensure more and more people completing the training are immediately provided with jobs," he said. "It is estimated that 88,354 young boys and girls are to be trained within the next three years. More than 16,000 candidates have been trained and over 7,000 are already working in the private sector, all because of the Himayat program. Big companies like Tech Mahindra, Amazon Pay, Greenply, Yazaki India, Apollo and others have recruited these candidates," he added.