Guwahati, May 4 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Friday stressed the need for skill development among youth to end the unemployment problem in the state.
“Both high and semi-skilled workforce are in great demand and the state must be able to produce a pool of skilled manpower to cater to the needs of various sectors,” said Gogoi while launching a skill development programme here.
The chief minister added that a number of initiatives have been taken up to reduce unemployment. “To ease the unemployment problem, our government is planning to train at least 100,000 unemployed youths through vocational training – both within and outside the state – every year,” he said, adding that industries and businesses will be approached to sponsor such training programmes.
Assam Industry and Commerce Minister Pradyut Bordoloi said the youths would be sent for training in reputed institutes to acquire both hard and soft skills, enabling them to compete globally.
Bordoloi said four multi-disciplinary skill development training centres would be set up – one each at Karimganj, Dhubri, Nagaon and Tinsukia. The existing facilities at Cottage Industries Training Institute at Kalapahar in Guwahati will also be upgraded by the end of this month, he said.
The government plans to set up 23 multi-disciplinary skill development training centres during 2012, Bordoloi said.
“Demand-driven short-term training courses will be started in 2012 itself,” he said.
