Vocational training programme for unemployed youth in Himachal

Kufri, Sep. 6 (ANI): Unemployed youth in Kufri region of Himachal Pradesh are delighted after a special vocational course has been introduced at a Hotel Management Institute to enable them earn livelihood in tourism sector.

Introduced under the Central Government, the tourism and hospitality requires candidates to have had school education till standard eight as minimum eligibility.

The tourism-based course, which can be completed within six to eight weeks of training, is aimed to enable the local youths to get into jobs.

The enrolled students obtain free training, uniform and stipend of rupees 1,500 to 2000 at the institute.

"They (unemployed youth) after doing this course whose entire expense is being met by government including education, uniform, training equipments can explore job opportunities. We will also provide certificates after the completion of the course. Moreover, industrial training for a brief period so that after they pass out from this they can have employment opportunities," said Dipankar Mukherjee, Principal, Institute of Hotel Management, Kufri.

The local youth are enthusiastic to pursue this course. The students are being trained in cooking, catering apart from other nuances of the trade.

"This course will be very helpful. Even though in 8 weeks time you can't learn everything but the course will help to get job opportunities," said Poonam Sharma, a student.

Even graduates are showing interest in this special course, as they know it will prepare them for many employment opportunities.

"This course assures job for us. There are job opportunities in tourism sector as hundreds of tourists come to visit Himachal.... We are not only learning cooking and catering but also this course is teaching us the real sense of hospitality... this will tell us how to help and guide tourists," said a graduate trainee.

Tourism is an important employment generating sector in Himachal Pradesh and it is the mainstay in Kufri which attracts large number of tourists to enjoy snow falls. By Hemant Chauhan (ANI)