GOVERNMENT OF SIKKIM
                                       BUILDINGS AND HOUSING DEPARTMENT

                          CAPACITY BUILDING OF EDUCATED UNEMPLOYED YOUTH


                                              ANNUAL REPORT 2007-08

Introduction:
The youth are the hope and future of the country and play a vital role in fostering and strengthening of social consciousness against all social evils.
The problems that we come across in the present times are mostly connected with unemployed uneducated youth mostly indulging in many un-lawful activities.
The immense resources of youth if tapped can work wonders and work as a major force of socio-economic change. It is therefore needed to create increasing opportunities for them to develop their personalities and their functional capacities and thus make them economic productive and socially responsible individual of the state.
These days the concept of government jobs for every individual has become an illusion and thing of the past so it is important to increase the capacity of every young individual through training in various trades and crafts.

Strategy and Objective:
As seen these days, with lack of employment opportunity, the number of educated unemployment youth is increasing thus creating employment problems in the state. Therefore department of Buildings and Housing on directives from the state government has prepared training programme for unemployed educated from all parts of the district in various crafts and trades related to the department, since properly prepared and executed training programme has the potential to impart considerable skills and thereby help them find a job for their livelihood.
Skill development has been identified as a major strategy to make the human resources more efficient and more productive. The strategy will ultimately help the unemployed youth to confront the challenges of unemployment and find alternative source of livelihood

Training programme:
Training for skill development to educated unemployment youth was conducted by the department of Buildings and Housing Department under capacity building programme during 2007-08 mainly in trades like Carpentary, Masonry and painting works. Resource persons with knowledge and expertise in the trades as mentioned above were engaged for imparting trainings to the candidates.

Selection of Candidates:
Criteria for Selection of the candidates was based on the list received from the area M.LA.’s. of different constituencies. Total of 408 numbers of candidates attended the training, out of which 252 received training in Carpentry, 78 in Masonry and 78 in Painting works.

Venue/ Centres of Training:
Trainings were conducted in all the four districts of the state.. In west district trainings were held at Daramdin, Soreng, Sombaria, Chakung, Hee-Bermiok and Gyalshing. Karfectar, Namchi and Ravangla were the centres in the South District. In the east district Pakyong, Rongli and 5th. Mile Tadong were the venues for conducting trainings and finally Namprikdang was chosen as the training centre in the north district.

Conclusion:
The training programme though for a short period of time has benefited many of the youths in terms of learning the fundamentals of the trades. In the second phase of the training which is proposed to be taken up in the next financial year i.e 2008-09, advance training would be imparted to the trainees for further enhancing of the skills in the trades as mentioned above.

                                                                        Superintending Engineer (Planning)
                                                                         Buildings and Housing Department.