Shiv Sena seeks priority for local youth in Chandrapur apprenticeships
Shiv Sena Bharatiya Kamgar Sangathana has submitted a memorandum to the Chandrapur collector demanding more apprenticeship seats for local youth.
A large number of young people who have completed ITI, diploma, engineering and graduation courses in Chandrapur district, known for its industry and mining, are still looking for jobs. The Shiv Sena Bharatiya Kamgar Sangathana has alleged that local youth are not getting as many opportunities as they should at WCL, MIDC and large industrial establishments in the district.
Under the central government's National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) and National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS), young people are entitled to direct training in industries, skill development and a stipend. Chandrapur district falls under the Board of Apprenticeship Training (Western Region), Mumbai.
With WCL's apprenticeship recruitment process for various trades for 2026 currently under way, Santosh Leelabai Dashrath Parkhi, district president of the Shiv Sena Bharatiya Kamgar Sangathana and Chandrapur taluka chief, submitted a memorandum to the district collector so that unemployed local youth in Chandrapur district can get maximum benefit from these opportunities.
The memorandum demands an increase in apprenticeship seats for local youth at WCL's Chandrapur, Ballarpur, Wani, Wani North and Majri areas. It also calls for a meeting of all MIDC companies to review the seats available under NATS/NAPS.
The memorandum also seeks guidance and registration camps at the taluka level for ITI, diploma and engineering students. It further asks that a joint meeting of WCL, the District Industries Centre, the employment department and ITI institutions be held under the chairmanship of the collector to fix an annual target for apprenticeships.
Santosh Parkhi said local residents have made a major contribution to Chandrapur's industrial development, and local youth should therefore be given job and training opportunities.
He said, "Coal comes out of Chandrapur's soil, and local residents bear the brunt of pollution, but if job opportunities are going to outsiders, that is a serious matter. WCL and MIDC industries should give apprenticeship opportunities to local sons of the soil."
Parkhi warned that if these demands are not acted upon soon, unemployed youth will take out a march to the collector's office.
A copy of the memorandum has also been sent to the Skill Development Commissioner in Navi Mumbai, BOAT Mumbai, the general manager of WCL and the District Industries Centre. The memorandum demands that the administration, WCL and the district's industrial institutions work together to take concrete steps to give local youth employment along with training.
