May 1, 2018
Ensuring employability is a cornerstone of State Govt’s policy for workers
Under the Trinamool Congress Government, the Labour Department has been proactive in endeavouring towards the betterment of the conditions of workers – both organised and unorganised – in Bengal.
Not just providing social service benefits, the department is active too in ensuring employability of workers, be it through the creation of an online Employment Bank or providing financial assistance to those yet to get jobs or giving skill development training. The latter two are linked to the Employment Bank programme.
A brief overview of these programmes is given below:
Employment Bank
An online bridge between employers and employees; it was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 26, 2012
- Joint initiative by the Labour and Information Technology Departments, with active support from the Higher Education and Technical Education & Training Departments
- Both employers and job-seekers need to register on the website
- After logging in, while registered employers have the option of looking for suitable employees from among the registered job-seekers, the latter have the option of looking for suitable jobs from among those advertised.
- As of January 2018, 26,66,322 job-seekers and 503 employees have registered, with the latter posting a total of 1,45,415 jobs
Yuvashree
- Scheme for extending financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to 1 lakh most needy job-seekers enrolled with the Employment Bank
- Scheme implemented through specially designed online application and payments made through the method of direct benefit transfer (DBT)
- 95,595 beneficiaries getting the monthly assistance
- Since inception, 1,50,635 beneficiaries have received the monthly assistance
Skill development for registered job-seekers and domestic workers
- 6,332 job-seekers registered with the Employment Bank given skill training
- For financial year 2018-19, norms and the methodology of implementation simplified, and emphasis given on placements
- 9,478 job-seekers registered for taking mock tests, and 14,997 given special coaching
- For providing skill training to domestic workers, 497 Prashikshan Shibirs (‘training camps’) organised in all the 73 Employment Exchanges, where 12,137 have been trained
- Participants at the Shibirs paid stipend of Rs 100 per day
The Employment Bank programme is thus a commendable effort both in providing jobs and providing training for jobs. With increasing number of people registering and with more and more employers accessing the database, combined with the skill training being provided, the Employment Bank has become a cornerstone in the Bengal Government’s efforts towards ensuring gainful employment for all.
