JOWAI: The Meghalaya government has conceded that unemployment poses a significant challenge, and the rising number of job aspirants is only escalating the issue.
Launching the flagship programme – CM Elevate for the Jaintia Hills region at Jowai on Tuesday, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that over 70,000 Meghalayan youth enter the workforce every year and only a meagre 1500 could be recruited in government jobs.
“The demand for jobs is huge and it is not possible for the government sector to readily absorb everyone. Today roughly 70,000 people enter the workforce, which will increase to over 1 lakh in the next few years. Close to 1500 people are employed in the government sector through Meghalaya Public Service Commission (MPSC) and District Selection Committees (DSCs),” he said, stressing that this is why it’s important to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship culture in the state.
Assuring that steps have been taken towards that goal, Chief Minister Sangma said that the CM-Elevate scheme, with an allocation of Rs 300 crore, has been designed to create a conducive environment for job creation in the state and support 20,000 beneficiaries in next five years.
He also informed that in that time, the government plans to create over 50,000 plus jobs through the scheme. “Unless and until policies are created today, we will have massive problems in the future. So, it was incumbent on us to come up with an intervention that will ensure that the problems are resolved in future”, he added.
In the launch programme, the Chief Minister also distributed a total of 37 cheques under Yess Meghalaya and Green Meghalaya, among others, to the tune of Rs. 1.25 crore.
“We have come up with this policy to promote entrepreneurship to tackle the issue of unemployment. Our policy today will have a significant impact in resolving the issue of job creation in next 10-15 years,” he said.
He also apprised the gathering about similar government schemes such as the PRIME and YESS Meghalaya. The later, launched in 2022, supports youth organisations, societies and NGOs to seek financial assistance upto Rs 1 lakh for awareness, educational and other engaging activities.
“In last one year, 1155 youth organisations have been supported by the government and we will continue to support our youth through this programme”, he informed.
