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DIMAPUR — The increasing number of rural youths coming forward to acquire skills and pursue placements in private companies is an encouraging trend for the northeastern states, where the population has conventionally relied on the already saturated government sector.
Sharing this perspective at the Regional CXO Meet under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) at Noune Resort, Chümoukedima, Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio said the presence of senior-level representatives from reputed companies at the meet was a loud testament that the northeastern youths have carved a niche for themselves in the corporate world.
Despite the global slump in employment, the fact that potential employers are coming to the northeast region signifies their commitment towards equitable nation building, he added.
According to Rio, through DDU-GKY, rural youths of northeast India have been getting opportunities to work in multi-national companies in the country and foreign countries while helping their households economically as well.
The significant shift among rural youths who are now more open to careers in private companies in lieu of government employment is significant for the northeastern states where the government sector is already saturated, Rio remarked.
He said that youths from the region are adept at catching up with new trends and IT savvy. They also have the advantage of early foundation with English as the medium of teaching in schools and make excellent human resources for IT and service industry, ready for catering not only to the country but also the global workforce.
To boost performance and employment, Rio suggested that companies can consider setting up academies for the hospitality sector; taking into consideration that the major 5-star hotel industry has a substantial workforce from the northeast, coupled with the availability of quality local workforce.
Rio, who was the guest of honour, said that events like this strengthen the Government of India’s commitment towards the ‘Act East Policy.’ He noted the strategic location of the northeast region as a doorway to the neighboring Southeast Asian countries and said that companies who invest and set up their units in the region ahead of others would have an advantage.
On apprehensions about peace and security in the region which has been a major challenge for any development, Rio said that today the scenario has changed for the better. Citing data from the National Crime Bureau Report (NCRB) 2021, he pointed out that Nagaland has the lowest crime rate against women, making it the safest place to live in.
Rio also encouraged the corporate houses and the Ministry of Rural Development to explore and formulate skilling programmes in the field of sports, athletics, and music and performing arts which, he said, will not only address the unemployment problem but also help fulfill the aspirations of millions of rural youths.
Rio highlighted Nagaland’s active pursuit of establishing a planned city, the Nagaki Global City, to facilitate ease of doing business and attract potential investors to establish their bases, creating a sustainable commercial hub for the state and, ideally, the entire region.
It may be mentioned that a proposal for this city has been submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to be considered for the 15th Finance Commission’s recommendation that aims to incubate eight new cities in the country through a challenge.
Delivering the keynote address, Joint Secretary of Rural Skills, Ministry of Rural Development, Karma Zimpa Bhutia said that Nagaland has been in the forefront in terms of DDU-GKY activities.
Under DDU-GKY, the Nagaland State Rural Livelihoods Mission (NSRLM) which also organised the CXO meet, has successfully set up a migration support centre in Delhi’s Dwarka in collaboration with the Police Department and is currently providing support to our rural youth who were placed there as well as those in transit, he said.
Bhutia also mentioned that the NSRLM has also successfully provided international placements to some of their rural youth in the airline and hospitality industry. Some of their DDU-GKY candidates who had been trained in construction and masonry work have built a modular hospital in Mon district and around 100 of them were recruited by the agency building the US Embassy in New Delhi, he added.
In the northeast context, Bhutia highlighted challenges in ensuring sustainable placements, including the lack of big employers or industries within the states and the region, and unwillingness of candidates to migrate to other states due to factors like differences in food, language, and socio-cultural variations.
Bhutia emphasised that the current placement rate stands at 55%, with 60,419 placements achieved out of 108,935 trained candidates from the eight north eastern states. This statistic underscores the distinct set of region-specific placement challenges faced by the states, he said.
At the event, short speeches were delivered by L Sudhakara Reddy, Director of Monitoring & Evaluation, DDU-GKY NIRDRP, Hyderabad, and Bishal Rai, Mission director and COO of DDU-GKY, Sikkim. CM Rio also released a book on 100 success stories.
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