As per the Employment Information Center (Operation and Management) Directive, the information centers will cater to all Nepalis who are at least 16 years old and are fully or voluntarily unemployed, unemployed because of termination of contract, underemployed or planning to change jobs.[break]
“We are currently planning to convert 14 labor information centers located in various parts of the country into job information centers, as these entities have already started compiling data on the numbers of jobless,” Buddhi Bahadur Khadka, joint secretary at the Labor and Employment Ministry, said, adding that the centers would be monitored by the Labor Department.
The government has launched the directive as there is no agency in the country to help the unemployed or underemployed find work. The lack of such agencies is one of the reasons why hordes of people leave the country every day looking for work.
“To get enrolled in the program, job seekers should file an application manually or electronically (via Internet), including the personal details and type of work they are looking for,” says the directive. Likewise, employers who are looking for people with certain skills can fill manual forms or online, listing the basic human resource requirements and vacancies available at their firms.
Based on such information, the job information centers will create a database of job seekers, covering their skills, qualifications, age, experience and areas of interest.
“These details must be put on the websites of the respective centers and disseminated among employers from time to time,” the directive says. “But if employers submit specific details about their human resource requirements, the centers must readily shortlist the names of candidates who match the experience and skills sought, and forward this information to them.”
The employers must make the selection process as inclusive as possible. Besides, job seekers below 18 should only be placed at firms where working hours are between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., says the directive which likewise has provisions for those seeking self-employment opportunities.
These people (looking for self-employment) can acquire counseling services from the centers, the directive says. “In case such people need to undergo vocational training, the centers must recommend courses for them and coordinate with various training centers to get them enrolled,” the directive further says.
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