Youth must contribute to nation-building as entrepreneurs: Director JKEDI

Pulwama, Oct 29: The Director, Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI), Ajaz Ahmad Bhat on Saturday presided over an Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme (EAP) for the students of Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Tulbagh at Pulwama.
Continuing its drive to create mass awareness among the educated youth of J&K, JKEDI organized a day-long programme during which the students were acquainted with the realities of the labour market in the UT along with the scope of entrepreneurship development and self employment in various sectors of the economy.
The EAPs are also structured to create awareness among the youth about different Government schemes for entrepreneurship development and network the eligible candidates for coverage after proper registration and screening.
Speaking on the occasion, the Director talked about various sectors of the economy and enumerated potential areas that can be exploited for starting a viable business. He stressed on the need to choose entrepreneurship as a first career choice.
“The government may not be able to provide jobs to all, but one must take this as a positive and look for other viable career options. Nothing can beat being your own boss and simultaneously creating employment opportunities for others,” said Bhat.
He added that there is a need to innovate and add value to traditional businesses in sectors such as food processing, horticulture, animal husbandry, fashion technology, and others where raw materials are available locally.
JKEDI officers and senior faculty members discussed various schemes and activities on the occasion. Incharge Training for Kashmir Division, Dr Meiraj-Ud-Din Bhat, gave a brief overview of the Institute and discussed the various opportunities available to students. Waseem Ahad, Project Manager, discussed initiatives of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
The J&K Startup Policy was briefly presented by Imtiyaz Ahad Malla, Associate Project Manager.
The programme was organized by Pulwama District Nodal Officer, , and team. Assistant Director, Skill Development Department, and hundreds of students and local people attended the programme.