Bengal gets its first 'Career Paramarsh Kendra'

Kolkata: The state's first Career Paramarsh Kendra (CPK) to provide information regarding jobs and training to the SC/ST and unemployed youths, was set up in Kolkata on Friday afternoon.

The centre was set up by the Backward Classes Welfare and Tribal Development department. The scheme was adopted in the first meeting of the West Bengal Scheduled Castes Advisory Council, which was chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Senior officials of BCW, including the principal secretary SK Thade, was present at the inaugural function.

It has been decided that 30 centres will be opened in 2017-18, followed by another 37 in 2018-19.

The estimated cost of operation of each CPK will be around Rs 36 lakh. Thus, all the 67 sub-divisions in the state will be covered within a span of less than two years.

These centres will be maintained and managed by the West Bengal SC, ST and OBC Development and Finance Corporation under the BCW, through strategic partnership with ni-MSME, Hyderabad and Indus Integrated Information management Limited.

The need to set up the CPKs was felt, as the facility for getting information on career prospects, be it in the educational sector or employment, is still in a primitive level, particularly in the rural areas. There is no institution, state-run or private, which provides counseling facility or information in a structured fashion, on commonly asked issues by the students and unemployed youths.

Each of the CPKs will provide counseling to 3,000 visitors and facilitate at least 500 candidates with suitable self-employment.

It will provide 300 hours (180 hours office job and 120 hours industry orientation) training to selected 150 candidates and place at least 100 of them with job employment.

The CPKs will also organise job fairs and placement services. It will prepare a database on available government schemes for self-employment and financing ties.