Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, OCT 9 (NPN): Sixty girls and women from Dimapur I constituency have completed a three month tailoring training programme initiated by advisor, Elections & Tribal Affairs, H. Tovihoto Ayemi. Sewing machines and certificates were distributed to all participants at the graduation and handover programme held at AIDA Hall on Friday.
The training, conducted by AIDA under the theme “Empowering Women through Tailoring,” commenced on June 16 and aimed to equip women with practical skills to enhance livelihood opportunities.
Addressing the programme, Ayemi expressed happiness over the successful completion of the training and thanked all those involved in making the initiative possible. He said hearing the experiences of participants over the three month course gave him immense satisfaction.
Ayemi admitted he was initially sceptical about the initiative but noted that the response improved as news of the programme spread across the constituency, with many women coming forward to participate. Describing the training as “very successful,” he informed that another batch could be organised if more participants came forward.
Dwelling on unemployment, Ayemi observed that Nagaland has one of the highest ratios of government employees in the country, with approximately 1.23 lakh people employed in the sector. He pointed out that despite government jobs being regarded as secure and privileged, vacancies remained limited, while more than 71,000 educated unemployed youths were registered as job seekers. He underscored the need for youths to explore alternative employment opportunities through skill development.
Stating that 92% of educated unemployed youths were unskilled, Ayemi asserted that Nagas were smart but needed to address the skills gap through training and up skilling to improve employment prospects. He added that certificates obtained through such programmes could help participants secure employment.
Ayemi further noted that both the State and Central governments had taken cognisance of the unemployment challenge and were implementing various programmes to create opportunities for youths. He cited initiatives such as Nagaland Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), MSME schemes, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and IDAN, and urged people to familiarise themselves with available opportunities. He also referred to a BJP cell working to disseminate information on government schemes, stressing the importance of ensuring awareness of programmes designed to support employment and livelihood generation.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by Pithunglo, invocation was offered by Rev. Fr. Nebu Mathew, Rector, Don Bosco Campus & Director, AIDA, while the welcome note was delivered by Rev. Fr. Dr. Roy George, Executive Director & Chief Functionary, AIDA. A special number was presented by the trainees, with speeches delivered by Bendangnaro (morning session) and Elikana (evening session).