Tura, July 26: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Friday said that the state government is bridging the gap between demand and supply for overseas job placements by connecting the youth with trusted agencies. He assured government’s full support arising out of such challenges to help the youth of the state grab the opportunities.
“As a government, we have intervened to connect our youth with agencies. We will fund their training up to Rs. 50,000, support them in their journey to secure a job overseas, and facilitate their visas and other necessary paperwork,” the Chief Minister said while addressing the youth at a Job Fair for overseas placements held at the district auditorium in Tura, West Garo Hills.
He said that the government has decided to support overseas placements because there is a huge potential in developed nations due to their aging populations. “If we are able to send 1,000 youths to countries like Japan, Singapore, and the UK, they would earn roughly about Rs. 1.2 lakh a month, and would be able to save money, which in turn will significantly contribute to our state’s foreign exchange earnings,” he said.
“The population of most developed nations is aging and they do not have an adequate young working population. With India having the youngest population in the world, and even younger in the state of Meghalaya, there is an opportunity to bridge this gap by sending job-ready youth to work in these countries after proper training and support in terms of documentation from the Government,” he added.
Talking about his visit to Japan, the Chief Minister said, “Two nurses from Meghalaya who have been placed in Kobe, Japan are extremely happy for the opportunity to work there. I have personally met them in Kobe and have also met the management of the hospital. The hospital group alone requires 700 nurses every year. They require a young workforce as their country is facing a shortage of young people to work in different sectors.”
“There is a huge demand not only for nurses in the healthcare sector but also in other sectors such as logistics, aviation, hospitality, music, and more,” the Chief Minister said, stating that the youth of our state can seize this opportunity.
In next few months, 27 youth from the state will be placed in Japan, 44 in Singapore, and 50 in the UK hopefully in the nursing sector.
Addressing concerns about fear and trust deficits, the Chief Minister said that the Meghalaya Skill Development Society (MSSDS) and the Department of Labour, Employment & Skill Development Society have been entrusted with the task of identifying the right agencies for skill training, language learning, and job placement.
“Our youth can trust these agencies as we have identified the best ones, so there is nothing to fear. We prioritize the safety of our citizens while ensuring that they have meaningful earnings,” he added.