Bhubaneswar: Several state and central government agencies came together to conduct a two-day inclusive job fair, which ended on Sunday, for differently-abled and mainstream youths here.
The State Employment Exchange, Employment Directorate of Odisha's District Employment Exchange, social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities department and the Centre's National Career Service Centre for Differently-abled hosted the fair with about 35 pan-India companies such as Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, SBI Life Insurance, Godrej Orion Edutech, and Eureka Forbes, among others taking part.
The companies offered salaries ranging from Rs 6,000 to 50,000 a month with qualification varying from Class VIII to postgraduate. About 17,000 job seekers were mobilised from those registered with the National Career Service, skilled candidates trained by the Odisha Skill Development Authority's project implementing agencies, and local colleges and universities.
There were separate counselling counters for persons with disabilities, men and women job seekers. Seventy trained volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra were deployed to assist the job seekers, employers, and skill providers. Social security and empowerment of persons with disabilities minister Prafulla Samal appealed to the corporate groups to employ more persons with disabilities and called them an excellent, untapped human resource. He said the government would extend support and facilitate employers to boost placement drive.
The department's principal secretary Niten Chandra said all job fairs at district and block levels should be inclusive to provide equal opportunities to every job seeker.
Rajesh B. Patil, director of employment and member secretary of the Odisha Skill Development Authority said the state government was providing skill training to disabled and non-disabled job seekers under its Skilled in Odisha initiative to enhance their employability.
State Commission for Persons with Disabilities member Minati Behera said Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act provides for employing 5 per cent job in the private sector and the government should facilitate the interface between the disabled job seekers and the employers.
