First ever Job Fair organized for 12th Pass Students in Shimla

A first-of-its kind job fair was successfully organized for the Class 12th passed out students in Shimla district where around 150 students appeared for day long interviews with top organizations and more than 100 students got placed in a one of a kind initiative to conduct placements for School Students. The highest package of Rs. 1.5 Lakh per annum was offered by Eureka Forbes during the fair. The ground breaking initiative was led by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) along with Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) and NSDC Training Partners (TPs), in association with State Government of Himachal Pradesh.

More than 20 companies have been roped in by the SSCs and NSDC TPs to participate in the Job Fairs. The companies participated in the fair include Competent Synergies Pvt. Ltd., SERCO, Home Credit, Eureka Forbes, Bajaj Allianz, Club Mahindra, Tapan Hyundai, Krishna Automobiles, Anand Toyota, G4S, Portea Medical, Shri Ram Hospital, MAX Healthcare, Fortis Hospitals, Café Coffee Day, DOMINOS, KFC etc.

This job fair has been a result of the efforts put in by all stakeholders over the last two years, since the time vocational education and training was introduced in Government Schools, under National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF).

Commenting on the achievement, Neeraj Kumar, State Project Director, Rasthriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan, Government of HP said, “The initiatives undertaken by the State Government two years back are paying dividends now. We plan to introduce these vocational courses across all the government schools in the near future and make our youth job ready in school itself. I am happy for the first batch of 100 students who have received job offers and wish them for their career ahead. I hope they find their learning useful in their day-today work.”

The NSQF program was launched in Himachal Pradesh as a pilot in September 2013 across 100 schools in 5 sectors covered by the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Vocational Education of Schools of Ministry of HRD.  The scheme was expanded to 200 schools last year and two new sectors were introduced. Currently around 25,000 students are enrolled under the scheme undertaking vocational education along with their regular academics. From this year onwards, another 300 schools are being added covering 8 trades. The entire on ground implementation of training program for these schools is being done by 10 NSDC training partners.

Dilip Chenoy, Managing Director& CEO, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) said, “It is great to see such a response from the youth of Himachal where they are willing to opt for job at an early stage in their career. The industry relevant skill sets that they have honed in their schools, is helping them in getting employed. We plan to replicate this model in all the states across the country.”

NSDC is currently working with the State Governments of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Maharashatra, Chhatisgarh and Rajasthan for implementation of the scheme in their states.