Minister orders counselling-based transfers in Skill Development dept

Bengaluru: Karnataka Medical Education and Skill Development Minister Sharan Prakash Patil on Friday announced that all general transfers in the Skill Development department will henceforth be carried out through a counselling process. During a departmental review meeting, Patil instructed Skill Development Secretary Ekroop Caur to draft comprehensive guidelines for the new system, with particular focus on the Department of Employment and Training (DET), which has one of the largest employee bases under the ministry.

“To put an end to the practice of employees seeking transfers through influence and recommendations, all postings should now be done through counselling. This will also enable staff to secure postings at preferred locations,” the minister said in a statement.

Patil reminded that the state government has already set June 16 as the deadline for general transfers of government employees and officials. Taking a strong stance on administrative inefficiency, Patil criticised senior officials in the department for “failing” to effectively implement government programmes. He directed the secretary to issue show-cause notices and transfer the concerned officials without delay.

Meanwhile, in a significant initiative aimed at enhancing youth employability, Patil directed institutions like the Government Tool and Training Centre (GTTC), Karnataka German Technical Training Institute (KGTTI), and departments under the National Livelihood Mission (NLM) to enrol applicants from the Yuvanidhi scheme and Udyoga Melas into short, and long-term skill development programmes.

Yuvanidhi is a government scheme that provides domicile Karnataka candidates who graduated or completed diploma courses in 2023 with an unemployment allowance for two years.

Udyoga Mela is a job fair organised by the Karnataka government to provide employment opportunities to unemployed youth. “Despite being graduates, many candidates at job fairs are rejected due to a lack of soft and technical skills. We must use the vast database of Yuvanidhi and Udyoga Mela applicants to bridge this gap with relevant training,” he added.