CHENNAI: Three years ago, M Mohanraj was on cloud nine when he joined the diploma course in mechanical engineering at the Central Polytechnic College in Chennai. Apparently, the happiness was soon overtaken by anxiety. He has seen many return to their villages and work as daily labourers even after completing higher studies in the city. As many of these students come from backward class communities with poor financial backgrounds, it becomes essential for them to secure jobs to their family’s financial status.
Coming from a poor family in Tiruvannamalai, Mohanraj wanted to secure a job and take care of his parents. But he was clueless about how to go ahead when a job fair was conducted at the Government College Boy’s hostel in Saidapet recently. Organised by the Chennai chapter of the department of backward classes and minorities welfare in association with the district employment office, the fair was aimed at providing employment to the backward and
most backward class students staying at the 14 government hostels in Chennai.
Mohanraj got selected and he got a placement immediately. At least 250 students among the 1200 hostel inmates attended the fair, and 95 got selected. More than 20 companies interviewed the students at the fair, which was the first of its kind in
Tamil Nadu. The selection was based on the financial background of the students.
“This is the first time we are organising a job fair for backward class (BC) and most backward class (MBC) final year students. Even though many complete their graduation and post-graduation, they end up as daily wage-earners due to their poor financial backgrounds. It was to find a solution to the unemployment of the graduates in the rural pockets of TN that we organised the job fair,” said P Vijaya Raghavan, district backward classes and minority welfare officer, who is the brain behind the initiative.
There are more than 1200 (420 girls) BC and MBC students stay at the 14 hostels in Chennai. Vijaya Raghavan literally walked into each hostel and spoke to the students about the fair. “It took more than a couple of months to cover all the hostels. We conducted interaction programmes for students. This helped, and many passed the interview in the job fair,” he said.
“The bio-data of the candidates will be uploaded in the portal known as
National Career Services to facilitate them to get employment opportunities and the record of the selected candidates will be tracked for three months. The appointment orders for the selected candidates were issued on the spot. Many students welcomed this golden opportunity and rejoiced at securing jobs which will help them support and raise their family’s financial status.
“We had only one condition. The minimum salary should be fixed to Rs 10000 and each one should be taken permanently after six months of probation,” said . Vijaya Raghavan.
Even though the debut job fair conducted by the Chennai chapter of the department of backward classes and minorities welfare was a great success, some participants in the fair said they didn’t get the post they deserved. “I am a diploma holder in mechanical engineering, but I got the job of a business executive. I am taking this offer, but this is not the job I was looking for,” said Ram Subhash S. However, the department is planning to write to the state government to conduct such job fairs in in other districts as well.
Illustration for representational purpose.