At a virtual event held earlier today, Honourable Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Minister of Finance launched the ‘अब देशमै छ रोजगारी’ Campaign amidst a gathering of prominent industrialists, skilling ecosystem stakeholders, donors, media and civil society representatives. Initiated by Rojgari Services Pvt. Ltd. and UKaid Skills for Employment Programme (सीप), the Campaign builds on previous efforts to respond to the livelihood needs of migrant returnees and other economically disadvantaged, socially excluded groups. By extending and expanding innovative, quality skilling, jobs, and enterprise start-up services and building stronger collaborations with and between a range of stakeholders, UKaid सीप and Rojgari Services are working to enable industry and economic growth by catalyzing jobs, enhancing entrepreneurship and optimizing the benefits of migration.
Unveiling the Campaign logo and slogan, Minister Khatiwada, noted the importance and timeliness of the Campaign, adding, “I’m confident that such market-led skilling initiatives will gather momentum—and successfully build the envisioned collaborations between the Government, private sector, civil society, skilling partners, media and our development partners.” Job creation and building an entrepreneurial class is critical and the government is introducing smart incentives and market-friendly policies that will help enable a bright economic future–he remarked.
Because of the loss in jobs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, around 700,000 Nepali workers are estimated to return from overseas over the next year alone. Nepal needs to create over a million jobs to avoid an imminent unemployment crisis. “Our inability to respond to this crisis in time, may have an adverse ripple effect across all sectors of the economy, reversing hard-won progress of recent decades,” said Baljit Vohra, Team Leader of UKaid सीप during his presentation. “Our goal is to ensure that together we are able to leverage Nepal’s human capital of this country while also safeguarding lives and livelihoods.”
Rojgari Services will utilize its extensive platforms – website, mobile application, social media, Rojgari Pasals, Ghumti Rojgari Pasals, and collaborations – to connect and facilitate appropriate skilling, employment or self-employment pathways for registered returnee migrants. Shailendra Raj Giri, founder of Rojgari Services and Mero Jobs, noted, “अब देशमै छ रोजगारी Campaign and our collective partnership, with UKaid, सीप, and others, can catalyze a collective movement to generate jobs, enterprises, and facilitate growth–for and by Nepal’s human resources. This is the need of the hour.”
Also speaking at the event as a panelist Moushumi Shrestha of Shreenagar Agro Farm, noted, “There are ample jobs and untapped entrepreneurship potential in Nepal. Not just in agriculture but also in other sectors like handicrafts, textile, construction, and others. I’m pleased to see the heightened focus on domestic employment promotion.” Other prominent panelists– Mr. Pawan Golyan, Mr. Bishnu Agrawal, Ms. Rachna Thapa &Mr. Shekhar Golchha – highlighted the importance of industry-led co-investment models and collaboration as the way forward for skilling, job-creation, and entrepreneurship in the country.
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