Bengal government constitutes panel to examine current need for trained human resources in state

Initiative has been taken as government wants to impart job-oriented training to people so that they can be engaged within state according to the requirement of employment market

Mamata Banerjee.File photo

Avijit Sinha, TT, Siliguri, 03.06.23 : The Bengal government has constituted a 44-member committee headed by the chief secretary to examine the current need for trained human resources in the state and assess the outflow of trained and untrained people in search of jobs.

The initiative has been taken as the government wants to impart job-oriented training to people so that they can be engaged within the state according to the requirement of the employment market.

The decision, administrative sources said, was made following instructions from chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

While speaking at a meeting in Nabanna on May 11, Mamata underscored the need to explore options for the engagement of people in different sectors within the state through proper training and encourage youths to avail themselves of the benefits of the government's self-employment scheme.

On May 26, the state department of technical education, training, and skill development issued a notification, mentioning the constitution of the 44-member committee.

“It is headed by the chief secretary and comprises 17 other officials from different departments,” said a senior bureaucrat.

Along with them, the committee also has 26 members from various trade bodies and organisations in Bengal.

For the past few months, the Trinamul Congress government has been focusing on migrant workers who serve in other states. A rough estimate by authorities of different districts indicates that over 40 lakh workers from Bengal are working in different states.

“The chief minister, while speaking at administrative meetings, emphasised that if the job aspirants here were provided with training and a linkage was developed between employers and those people, a considerable section of them could be retained in Bengal,” the official said.

The committee, sources said, will make a clear assessment as to how many trained persons are required at various levels to work in different sectors, ranging from construction to hospitality to industrial units.

It will also try to find out how many trained and untrained people from Bengal are working in other states.

Once the assessments are done, associations representing different industrial sectors and trade bodies will be asked to encourage commercial units and establishments to induct trained youths according to their requirement.

“This can be done through participation in the employment-linked skill development programme under Utkarsh Bangla. They can also arrange training for their existing manpower,” a source said.

Sources said as the government had laid stress on the creation of jobs ahead of the rural polls and the 2024 general election, the focus on the migrant workers was important.

“During the nationwide lockdown following the outbreak of Covid-19, more than 15 lakh migrant workers had come back to Bengal. But despite several efforts to provide them with jobs in the state, almost all migrants returned to their workplaces as soon as things had normalised. This shows that Bengal needs to do something for this workforce,” said a senior official.

Moreover, if such a huge number of workers leave the state, it sends a negative message about employment opportunities in Bengal.