“The employment policy being implemented in Karnataka is innovative. It will help the youth of the State not just face challenges of today, but also of tomorrow,” Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said in Belagavi on December 23 while addressing the gathering after inaugurating a job fair organised by the Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood at KLS Gogte Institute of Technology.
“The policy is future-looking because it speaks in detail about skill training, industry requirements, entrepreneurship, and the State Government’s participation. The policy has definite guidelines about creating jobs for women. It does not just have provisions to create jobs for engineers or graduate. It also speaks of how to create employment for school dropouts after equipping them with skills that could make them employable. The policy would help increase the employment potential in urban and rural areas, and among IT and other sectors,” he said. It facilitates organisation of job fairs by various government departments. He claimed that Karnataka was the first State to formulate such a policy.
“The theme for the job fairs being organised by the government is ‘Employment for all’. This is the motto of our employment policy too. The policy will guide the direction of the Industries Department and all other departments,” he said. Though the policy was ready quite some time ago, job fairs could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stressed on the need for imparting professional skills to young graduates that make them employable. “I have known of engineers who have passed their examinations with distinction, but cannot draw a straight line. This should change. Only an engineering degree is not enough. You need an extra skill set to join the industry of your choice,” said Mr. Bommai, who is a mechanical engineer by training. The Department of Skill Training, which was set up in 2017, has created over 2 lakh jobs, he said.
Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan said the State Government will set up engineering colleges in districts that do not have one. “We will upgrade seven government engineering colleges into institutes of excellence on the line of IITs,” he said.
Over 5,500 students from northern Karnataka districts had participated in the job fair. Wipro, HP, Ola, HCL, Byju’s, Tata Group and Toyota were among the 57 companies that had put up stalls. As many as 14 had organised virtual interviews.
Urban Development Minister, Bhyrathi Basavaraj; Additional Chief Secretary IT&BT, Science & Technology E.V. Ramana Reddy, Industries and Employment Commissioner K. Jyoti, IT&BT Director Meena Nagaraj, KLS GIT governing council chairman Rajendra Belgaonkar, and KLS member R.S. Mutalik were among those present.
