Shillong: Meghalaya govt has called for greater focus on “future-ready skills” in sectors such as AI, aviation, management, hospitality, healthcare, beauty and textiles for unemployed youth in rural areas of the northeast.“The Integrated Kaushal Rural Portal should function as a dynamic tool for identifying delays, tracking dropouts and addressing placement bottlenecks in real time,” said Sosthenes Sohtun, minister for community and rural development.Sohtun was speaking at a national-level regional workshop on the Integrated Kaushal Rural Portal under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, or DDU-GKY 2.0, at the state convention centre in Shillong on Monday.Senior officials from the Union ministry of rural development, the national informatics centre, central technical support agencies and representatives from nine state rural livelihood missions and state skill development agencies attended the workshop. The participating states were Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal.The deliberations focused on strengthening the implementation of DDU-GKY 2.0 through digital monitoring, mobilisation and selection of youth, training infrastructure, assessment and certification, placement and tracking, and fund release.Jayasree MG, joint secretary for skills in the Union ministry of rural development, said the core objective of DDU-GKY 2.0 is to provide rural youth with quality training linked to “meaningful and sustainable” employment.She stressed strict compliance with standard operating procedures, timely target allocation and the removal of implementation delays. She said the scheme is placement-linked and that payment release is tied to placement outcomes.Jayasree also called for effective mobilisation, identification of suitable candidates and stronger engagement with industry, including captive employers. Highlighting the national importance of the scheme, she urged stakeholders to work toward providing rural youth with sustainable livelihoods and greater economic mobility.SC Sadhu, secretary of Meghalaya’s Community and Rural Development Department, highlighted the growing mobility of youth from the Northeast. Referring to young women from Meghalaya working in Madurai, he said apprehensions about moving outside the home state can sometimes limit opportunities.Sadhu urged project implementing agencies to “sensitise and encourage” youth from the northeast to undergo training and explore employment outside their states for wider exposure and experience.The workshop concluded with state-level discussions on ensuring stronger placement outcomes and sustainable livelihoods for rural youth in the region.
