SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday reviewed the roadmap for reviving the Jammu and Kashmir Overseas Employment Corporation Limited (JKOECL), with a focus on creating a structured mechanism to help skilled youth access overseas job opportunities through safe and transparent channels.
Chairing a high-level meeting, the Chief Minister assessed plans to operationalise JKOECL as the government’s nodal agency for overseas recruitment facilitation. The discussions focused on strengthening international partnerships, upgrading skill development programmes, and building a system to prepare local youth for global employment markets.
During the meeting, Director Employment J&K Harvinder Singh presented a phased roadmap for the corporation’s revival, including the development of a digital overseas employment portal, tie-ups with licensed recruitment agencies, foreign language training, international certification programmes, employer engagement, counselling, pre-departure orientation and post-placement support.
Officials said the proposed framework aims to enable JKOECL to coordinate with the Ministry of External Affairs, Protector of Emigration, Indian Missions abroad, skill institutions and authorised recruitment agencies to ensure legal and transparent overseas placements.
Protector of Emigration, Chandigarh, Yashu Deep Singh highlighted overseas employment trends from Jammu and Kashmir, remittance patterns, and opportunities emerging through India’s labour mobility agreements with different countries.
He also pointed out challenges faced by aspiring workers, including lack of awareness about legal migration routes, limited institutional outreach, dependence on unverified social media information and the need for skills matching international standards.
Reviewing the proposals, Omar said the government’s focus should go beyond sending people abroad and should prioritise developing a globally competitive workforce.
“We should not only send people abroad; we should send skilled people there. Our focus should be on skilling,” the Chief Minister said.
He directed departments to prepare a time-bound implementation plan and convert the proposed measures into actionable outcomes. Omar also asked officials to study successful overseas employment models adopted by states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Calling for a sustainable skill development ecosystem, the Chief Minister said the upcoming Industrial Policy should include provisions for setting up training institutes that can prepare youth for international workforce requirements. He also stressed greater private sector participation in skill development and employment generation.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Education Sakina Itoo, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, senior government officials and representatives from departments related to employment, finance, education and skill development.
