K'taka-run agency to propel labourers' overseas dreams

A state-run agency will now pick and train labourers for jobs overseas amid complaints of alleged ‘manpower mafia’ and steep prices private recruitment firms charge to enlist unskilled and semi-skilled workers for foreign opportunities.

The Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation LtdVocational Training and Skill Development Corporation Ltd (KVTSDCL), a recruiting agency under the government’s International Migration Centre, is in talks with the Canadian Province of Quebec and a few Gulf nations. Full-fledged operations are expected to be launched in two months.

According to S Selvakumar, secretary, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood Department, the recruitment agency is the first such government body in the state. “Till now, there were only private companies offering such services. With the help of this agency, we will be able to tie up with different companies and train labourers for jobs abroad,” he said.

One of the advantages, Selvakumar said, was that it would reduce problems caused by middlemen. “Job-seekers are often cheated by touts of private recruitment firms. With the state government coming into the picture, such cases will reduce. It will be easy to sign MoUs with the help of foreign embassies as the agency is under the government,” he said.

As of now, many countries have evinced interest in the services offered by KVSTDCL, Selvakumar said, adding that the government was ready to fulfil the labour requirements of any country.

Avinash K S, general manager of KVSTDCL, said that currently, the agency was assessing various proposals internally. “The Province of Quebec in Canada has approached us via the Canadian embassy. A meeting of consulate generals will soon be held to push the idea further,” he said.

After initial rounds of discussions, MoUs will be signed in a couple of months highlighting the kind of labour required. Soon after, the agency will train the required labourers and place them in companies abroad, he added.

According to data available, the state-run agency is the 14th in the state, including private ones. Prior to Karnataka, seven states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Bihar had launched government agencies to assist skilled or semi-skilled labourers in finding jobs abroad.