Trained hill youths in good demand in service sector

Gangtok, Dec 5 (UNI) In a win-win situation for both the service sector and the youth of Sikkim, companies have started making a beeline for trained hill youths to exploit their hospitality skills and command over English language.

Air Hostess Academy (AHA) Manager (Business Development) Rajiv Sinha told UNI here today that the trend had proliferated during the past five years with demands for trained hill youths set to increase as service sectors, including aviation, hospitality and tourism were on an upward graph.

''Offbeat careers have been coming up in the last five years and students from the hills are eminently suitable for them,'' Mr Sinha said.

The company trains students in aviation, hospitality and BPO segment and claimed to successfully place its students in multi-national companies.

''Demand for the human resources from the hills has been rising as they are hospitable by nature and they adapt to these kinds of jobs easily,'' Mr Sinha said.

The feedback from the service industry was that people from hills were much preferred, he added.

''The BPO industry is already flooded with youths from Sikkim and Darjeeling and their numbers are increasing,'' he said.

The AHA participated in a two-day career fair along with 50 other companies and institutes in Gangtok which ended today.

The company received good response from the hills with many of its students from Sikkim and Darjeeling finding good employment in renowned companies.

''Though blessed with good physical features and a strong English education foundation, the students have been unable to avail the opportunities. And this is where training companies like AHA come into the picture,'' Mr Sinha said.

''Whatever their weaknesses are, the training academies iron them out,'' he added.

Echoing the AHA's observations, another player in the service sector - Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training - said the trained hill people were in much demand.

''Feedback from the industry is that hill people are disciplined and dedicated and very hospitable by nature,'' Siliguri centre head of Frankfinn Subash Kr Jha said.

Meanwhile, the Sikkim government also launched various capacity building programmes and educational loans for the youths in a bid to switch them over to the booming service sector from the shrinking government jobs.

In its endeavour to equip the youth with adequate technical, professional and higher education, the state government launched a comprehensive educational loan scheme from July for pursuing the courses outside Sikkim and abroad.

Several overseas educational institutes participated in the career fair to attract the Sikkimese students and received good response.

UNI