Mega job fair in Ballari offers jobs to over a thousand candidates

A mega job fair aimed at connecting unemployed youth with potential employers was organised in Ballari on Wednesday with over a thousand candidates securing employment opportunities during the event.

The event was organised jointly by the district administration, the Ballari Zilla Panchayat, the Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Sanjeevini-Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Mission, the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana and Smt. Saraladevi Satishchandra Agarwal Government First Grade College (Autonomous), Ballari.

Chairman of the Dr. Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Development Corporation Ltd. Mundargi Nagaraj, who inaugurated the fair, said that the government led by Siddaramaiah is committed to supporting job-seekers across the State.

“The process of filling more than 52,000 government posts in the State will begin soon following a decision taken by the Cabinet under the leadership of the Chief Minister. The recruitment process was earlier delayed due to the implementation of internal reservation. The job fair organised by the district administration has generated fresh hope among unemployed youth,” he said.

In all, 76 companies participated in the fair. While 7,504 candidates registered online, 2,346 attended the event, of whom 1,163 were selected for various jobs by the participating companies.

Recalling earlier initiatives, Mr. Nagaraj said that during the government led by Mr. Siddaramaiah in 2017-18, a three-day job fair held near Jindal in Ballari saw the participation of about 350 companies which helped provide employment to more than 30,000 people.

He also noted that a divisional-level job fair held recently in Kalaburagi helped thousands of youths secure employment in the Kalyana Karnataka region. The State government, he added, is also providing financial assistance to unemployed graduates under the Yuvanidhi scheme.

Mayor P. Gadeppa said that Ballari district has one of the highest concentrations of industrial units in the Kalyana Karnataka region and appreciated the district administration’s initiative to create employment opportunities for youth.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Ballari Range, P.S. Harsha said that employment opportunities are crucial for the younger generation and job fairs are essential to address unemployment in the region.

“Efforts are also being made to digitise the profiles of participating candidates and share them with authorities under the jurisdiction of the Regional Commissioner so that they can be considered for suitable opportunities,” he said.

Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Harris Sumair, who presided over the programme, said that Ballari district has many talented candidates, including graduates and diploma holders, but there is often a lack of direct interaction between companies and job-seekers.

“The job fair was organised to bridge this gap, enabling candidates to meet company representatives directly and attend interviews,” he said.

He also advised youth to acquire specialised skills such as programming languages including Python and Java, as well as emerging fields like data science and artificial intelligence and machine learning to succeed in today’s competitive world.

Along with skills, he said, self-confidence is essential to perform well in interviews.

During the event, appointment letters were distributed to selected candidates. A QR code facility was arranged for candidates to register, while interviews were conducted by company representatives in different rooms of the college.

Five stalls displaying products made by women from self-help groups were also inaugurated on the college premises.

Chairman of the District Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority K.E. Chidanandappa, Superintendent of Police Suman D. Pennekar, Deputy Conservator of Forests K.N. Basavaraj, Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zubair, Ballari City Corporation Commissioner P.S. Manjunath, Zilla Panchayat Deputy Secretary Shashikant Shivapure, college principal Prahlad Joshi, Ballari Chamber of Commerce president Avvaru Manjunath, District Employment Exchange and Skill Development Officer P.S. Hattappa, officials from various departments, employers, job-seekers and members of the public were present.