BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has set an ambitious target to upgrade skills of 10 lakh youths during the current plan.
With the growing demand for skilled and semi-skilled workers in health sector, particularly home nursing for old people and babies, the State Employment Mission has been asked to facilitate modular employable skill training for 50,000 girls in auxiliary nursing and paramedics in the next five years.
Presiding over a high-level meeting on skill requirement of the State during the 12th plan period, Chief Secretary BK Patnaik stressed modular employable skills (MES) training to tap the opportunities in private and domestic sectors.
The private hospitals and nursing homes are also in need of qualitative and trained auxiliary nursing mid-wives (ANM) and the growth rate for skilled manpower in the health sector is estimated at 19 per cent.
Similarly, the demand for skilled workers in tourism and hospitality sector is quite high even as the sector is expected to be the second largest employer by 2019.
There is also a growing demand for trained people for external hospitality, restaurant and domestic services. Target has been set to train 50,000 youths in these trades in the next five years.
Construction has been identified as the other important sector with large employment opportunities. Construction sector is the second largest economic activity after agriculture. The sector has recorded a growth rate of more than 11 per cent.
Apart from construction activities taken up by Government departments, the potential private employers in this sector are L&T, Tata, Simplex, Punj Lloyd, Nagarjun, Lanco and local real estate developers. The Employment Mission has planned to provide skill training to around two lakh youths in various operations related to construction.
The other important sectors with employment potential are textile, manufacturing, mining, information technology, information technology-enabled services (ITES), retail trade, telecom, banking, driving and security services.
Meanwhile, the State Employment Mission has drawn up calendar of activities for achieving this target. The Chief Secretary has advised the Mission to identify and list out credible training partners to impart qualitative training with hands-on practice.
Employment and Technical Education Secretary C S Kumar, Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Secretary Anu Garg, Works Secretary SK Ray, Director of State Employment Mission Usha Padhee and technical experts participated in discussion.