Ramen Deka, Member of Parliament (MP), Mangaldoi Lok Sabha constituency, is of the opinion that “there is no unemployment problem in India which boasts of a population of one hundred and twenty five crore. Nevertheless, there is dearth of competent people for the jobs”.
MP Deka made this observation while interacting with young job seekers at the Mega Job Mela, Darrang 2018 organised jointly by the Darrang chapter of the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) and the district administration at Mangaldoi Sanatan Dharmasabha premises on Sunday afternoon.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the MP stressed on the need to expand one’s skill sets in order to “get a paying job in today’s dog-eat-dog world. One must polish one’s skill to survive in today’s fiercely competitive environment. If you master the art of perfection in your chosen field, then you can earn even while sitting at home”.
Deka said that there was great demand for skilled workers like mason, carpenter, plumber, etc., in foreign countries like Mauritius. “Recently, Mauritius was in need of 50,000 workers to work in their country as mason, carpenter, plumber, bartenders, etc. Anyone with the above skills can easily land a job in Mauritius,” the MP remarked.
Deka lamented that youths in Assam only “hankered after white-collar jobs even though they did not have the required qualifications”. A lot of youths who participated in the Mega Job Mela shared their personal experiences vis-à-vis how after being trained under Government-sponsored programmes, they no longer had to “break their heads over getting a Government job and were self-sufficient enough to start their own enterprise”.
Earlier, while explaining the objectives of the job mela organised for the first time in Darrang district, Pankaj Chakravarty, Project Director, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Darrang, pointed out that the mela provided a platform to the rural unemployed youths of the district (Grade VIII pass and above) for on-the-spot registration and placements in various trades depending on their capabilities. The day-long mela where about 15 private placement and training organisations including ASRLM participated reportedly enrolled around 1,500 aspirant candidates.