Industry and trade professionals on Tuesday interacted with the youths in the district headquarters of Samba to appraise them of skill development and job opportunities in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The youth convention by Kaushal Sangmam (District Skill Development and Employment Cell), an initiative of  District Samba, was organised in the administrative complex, wherein  professionals from the industry, trade and budding entrepreneurs interacted with the  participants.
The Youth Convention was organised to know about the aspirations of the youths and to make them aware of the various self employment and skill development schemes of the government.
Joginder Singh, Nodal Officer, Kaushal Sangmam, briefly described the aims and objectives of the “Kaushal Sangmam” and the need for organizing the convention.
Anuradha Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, Samba, appreciated the efforts of Kaushal Sangam, especially Sanjali Jain from the District Employment and Counseling Centre in organizing the convention bringing the various stakeholders in education, employment and skill on a single platform.
She appealed to the participants to become aware of the changing scenario in the employment and skill and keep themselves updated with latest developments and work towards excellence in their chosen fields.
A large number of  professionals from industry and mega projects attended the Youth Convention prominent being Charanjeet Singh Walia, Vice President, Alhuwalia Contracts(India)Ltd, Surinder Singh Oberoi, Project Manager Dry Port.
The professional from industry apprised the participants of the job requirements in view of the new industries and mega projects like the ongoing projects like dry port, AIIMS, NHAI in the district.
An open forum interactive session was also held wherein the queries of the participants were replied by the professionals. A job fair was also organized by the District Employment and Counseling Centre wherein 12 companies of national repute like Reliance JIO, RBSiGLOBAL, SBI Life, Geneka Pharmaceutical, Kokuyo-Camlin Ltd, UFLEX Ltd, Jamkash Trucking Pvt. Ltd., Fair Deal Motors and Workshop Pvt. Ltd.  participated and shortlisted 137 candidates for various positions.
Twenty one sanction letters were handed over to the candidates by the Deputy Commissioner under different government sponsored self employment schemes amounting to Rs 23 lakhs as subsidy and loan amount of Rs.1.30 Crore . Two hundred eighty nine candidates were registered for various skill development schemes.
Meanwhile, the Tiger Division of Indian Army Rising Star Corps facilitated in establishment of a “Youth Empowerment Centre’ at Gangyal in Jammu, to raise awareness and facilitate the constructive engagement of youth in the society.
The opening ceremony was attended by Brigadier NR Pandey, Commander Tiger Artillery Brigade, Nuzhat Gull, Secretary of the J&K Sports Council, Baldev Singh Billawaria, Deputy Mayor and others.
The initiative of establishing the Youth Empowerment Centre was conceptualized in coordination with civil administration through the Jammu Municipal Corporation. The Youth Empowerment Center is designed for the conduct of various skill development courses, events, lectures and other youth oriented events for the empowerment of the local youth in Jammu. In addition, the venue will be used to conduct de-addiction drives to promote awareness against drug abuse.