Skilling secondary, need to create jobs for youths first: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar

Gurgaon: Skilling is a “secondary” issue, some 8.5 lakh unemployed youngsters in the state need to find jobs first, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar told corporates at a meeting in the city on Tuesday.
Calling on companies to “hire our manpower first”, CM Khattar said that firms can use the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (HKRNL) “to meet their (recruitment) needs” while the government “will be able to fulfill its responsibility” of providing employment.
HKRNL was set up in 2021 for government entities to hire contractual staff.
According to the state government data, there are currently around 8.5 lakh unemployed youngsters in Haryana, of which a majority – 7 lakh – are studying or have studied up to Class 10.
Additionally, the government can help skill 2 lakh youths in a year – 12,000 through the Haryana Skill University and the remaining with collaboration with industries – Khattar said.
Before this, the government had introduced the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act 2020, providing 75% reservation for locals in private sector jobs with a monthly salary of less than Rs 30,000. The law was legally challenged.
The CM said on Tuesday that private companies can use HKRNL for recruitment as the government will charge 1% commission of the basic salary offered to an individual in return for access to its database. Private platforms to get recruiters in touch with jobseekers, he said, charge high rates for doing the same.
At the meeting in Gurgaon, joint secretary of Manesar Industries Welfare Association Vikash Gupta asked a question about the skill sets of jobseekers on HKRNL. To this, the chief minister said that employment was his motive and “out of proportion skilling” would still leave youngsters without jobs.
“We first need to find employment opportunities for them,” he said. Once the jobs are guaranteed, the companies can inform the government about the skill-set they need and the youngsters can be trained for that, he added.
A member of Gurgaon Industrial Association also conveyed to the CM that companies would like “transparency” while hiring contractual employees and an “assurance that there will be no government intervention in the process.”
The CM said in response that the companies are supposed to provide benefits like EPS and PF, and follow labour laws. “There will be no intervention otherwise,” he said.
On Tuesday, automaker Maruti Suzuki, which has the country’s largest production plant in Manesar, also presented a proposal to the government to recruit from the HKRNL database as the company needs to hire 35,000 staffers in the coming year. Khattar announced that a special skilling centre will be set up to cater to their needs.
Additionally, the CM agreed with the suggestion that training for jobseekers should include a course on learning how to work and live in a different state.