Fadnavis launches Maharojgar Melas in Konkan and Nashik divisions, says degree alone is not enough

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that if young people are to be made employable, skill development, training and employment must be linked with education. In his view, simply obtaining a degree is not enough. Continuous upskilling and learning new skills to keep pace with changing technologies such as AI, semiconductors and quantum computing is the need of the hour, he said.

Fadnavis said there is big demand for manpower in more than 28 countries of the world, and the government is trying to get young people from Maharashtra job opportunities at the international level. He was speaking at Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women's University, where the Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department held the online launch of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Maha Rojgar Mela in all districts of the Konkan and Nashik divisions. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde sent a video message wishing the fair well. At the event, the Chief Minister handed over appointment letters to Sahida Paramanik by Kreva Capital Services Private Limited, Belapur, and to Kanti Shambhu Chavan by Kreva Capital Services Private Limited, Kurla.

The Chief Minister said the fair has been organised under the "Seva Sankalp Abhiyan" to mark 25 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. He expressed the hope that it would give young people in the Konkan and Nashik divisions more opportunities for jobs and self-employment. He said the three-part formula of education, training and employment is vital for the dream of a Viksit Bharat. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay's idea of "Antyodaya" and "Integral Humanism" is about taking development to the last person in society, and the government's work runs on this idea, he said.

According to Fadnavis, building human resources through education, training and employment is the most important issue for creating a developed India by 2047. A India free of poverty, unemployment and disease is our dream, he said. Today, 65 per cent of the country's population is of working age. On one side industries need skilled people and on the other young people need jobs, and job fairs are acting as a strong link between the two, he said.

Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha called it a historic day for Maharashtra. He said job fairs are being held simultaneously at 418 places in the Konkan and Nashik divisions, and more than one lakh young men and women have joined. Lodha said this is not just a programme of 418 fairs but the start of a big plan to connect the strength of youth with employment. He said the "Rojgar Mahakumbh" began today and is not the end, and efforts will not stop until every young man and woman gets a job or self-employment opportunity.

Lodha said that under the Chief Minister's guidance, the fairs this time are not limited to ITI students. At least three small job fairs are being held in every taluka for young people at every level. Beyond just holding fairs, seven days of free pre-employment training was also given, which 61,000 young men and women have taken so far. More than one lakh young people have registered for the fair, and Lodha said he will not stop until at least 70 per cent of them are connected to jobs or self-employment.

Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said his department is working shoulder to shoulder with the skills development department so that as many employment avenues open up as there are graduates. Marketing Minister Jaykumar Rawal said Maharashtra has made a name as Asia's top investment hub and the "startup capital" of the country. If young people get job opportunities anywhere in the world, not just in the state, the government is ready to send them abroad after giving them the necessary language and skills training, he said.

Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare, Additional Chief Secretary Manisha Verma, SNDT Women's University Vice-Chancellor Prof Hemlata Bagla, Ratan Tata Maharashtra State Skills University Vice-Chancellor Dr Apurva Palkar, Maharashtra State Skill Development Society Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner Dr Amit Saini and Mumbai City Collector Anchal Goyal were present. Senior officials from several departments and thousands of students from across the state, online and in person, also took part.

The fairs are being held in 12 districts of the Konkan and Nashik divisions. So far more than 1,500 employers and more than one lakh job-seeking young men and women have registered. The participating industries have listed demand for more than 25,000 posts. Candidates and employers have been connected district by district through coordination among educational institutions, colleges, government industrial training institutes and local administration. The district administration, the Higher and Technical Education Department, the Labour Department, the Industries Department, the Marketing Department, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, universities and industry bodies extended support.

A separate special job fair for women was also held to raise their share in employment. Industries, companies and service-sector organisations that hire women have been lined up to take a large part in it. Thirty-six employers have said they will take part, and stalls giving information on the schemes of various government corporations have been set up to promote self-employment.