Punjab Skill Development Mission starts process to help 10,000 youth move abroad annually

Chandigarh : The Punjab government has started the process to assist 10,000 youth move overseas annually. The government under its flagship Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme will hire a firm/agency after the Lok Sabha elections to assist 5,000 prospective emigrants to get study and work visas, respectively for the countries of their choice.

The state government floated a request for proposal for engagement of an agency for foreign employment and foreign study before the model code of conduct came into force. “The process has been initiated and will be completed as soon as the model code of conduct is lifted,” said principal secretary DK Tiwari, director, Punjab Skill Development Mission, and added the initiative is part of the Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme.

The state government is facing a problem of unscrupulous agents fleecing youth aspiring to work or study abroad. Recently, four Punjabis, including a couple, were stranded in Armenia and were rescued only after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj directed the Indian embassy there to help them return home. The agency will also help the state government by suggesting ways to check unscrupulous agents.

The Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Rules, 2013 makes it mandatory for all travel agents or those running ticketing or consultancy businesses, to register with the state government. Those who have been in the trade for over five years have to pay a licence fee of Rs 1 lakh and who have not completed five years have to pay Rs 25,000. However, a large number of travel agents are working without this mandatory registration.

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The agency will also assess and prepare a report on legal implications involved in sending people abroad and to find the most viable option to help interested people get work and study visas.

As per the plan, a database of people interested to move to other countries will be created and the firm will forge tie-ups with foreign employers/governments. A database of vacancies from overseas employers will also be created. Special counselling sessions will be held for assisting aspirants and they will be made aware about the courses they can enroll for study visas and the type of employment they are eligible to get work visas.

The Punjab government also plans to set up mechanism to address queries and complaints of these youth aspiring to shift overseas.

Other Plans

The state government will also set up coaching centres in each district to help aspirants belonging to marginalized or economically-weaker sections to crack competitive job exams conducted by the state and central governments.

Every household in the state will get a call from the government seeking details about the number of unemployed members in each family. For the purpose, a 110-seater call centre will be set up from where about 50,000 calls will be made in a day and will function 6 days a week from 9am to 5pm.

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