In Karnataka’s dry and impoverished Raichur district, an administration-led initiative is linking youth with private sector jobs, throwing in skill development also into the mix.
The Centre for Employment, Opportunities and Learning (C-EOL), launched by Raichur Deputy Commissioner S. Sasikanth Senthil, has placed 153 youth in private companies over the last two months. IT company Polaris has recruited 124 of them, and is expected to conduct another drive this month for 300 vacancies.
Registered under The Societies Registration Act, the Centre is led by the Deputy Commissioner as Chairman. The Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Panchayat and the Superintendent of Police are Vice-Chairmen, while principals of all government engineering degree, diploma, and ITI colleges are members.
Enrolment feeC-EOL enrols educated youth from the district at a fee of Rs. 100, and keeps watch on vacancies and job-openings in public, quasi-government and private sectors. It closely coordinates with the HR wing of employers. Recruitment camps are arranged at its office. The Centre updates candidates on job opportunities, based specifically on their profiles.
At the time of enrolment, candidates sign an undertaking to pay 20 percent of their first full month’s salary to C-EOL as one-time fee. The funds are to be utilised for C-EOL’s activities and development, including salaries for staff. C-EOL has had an average enrolment rate of 35 per day and the total has touched 1,560. It is in touch with around 7,000 potential employers.
The candidates who sign up get online access to 3,775 e-magazines, e-newspapers and e-journals from across the world, free of cost. There are 20 computers with high-speed internet connections.
Mock interviewsC-EOL also has a training and skill-development mechanism to make candidates more job ready. “We will engage C-EOL youth in the implementation of various government projects across the district on a nominal stipend. At the end, we will issue a certificate of experience. This will help them secure a job during campus interview,” Mr. Senthil said. Top brass of the district administration are also participating in interactive sessions on topics ranging from personality development to competitive exams.
S. Ajith Kumar, C-EOL in-charge, said that it was a service-oriented initiative. “We don't charge anything extra for any training, but the private agencies do,” he said. M.D. Yusuf Ali, Manager of C-EOL, said mock job interviews had been organised in which IAS and KAS officers serving in the district interviewed C-EOL candidates.
