Indian state of Kerala to provide equal employment opportunities for all
- Champa Ha
The Kerala Social Justice Department is working with the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission to empower members of the transgender community in the state of Kerala, India. With an employment scheme known as Pride, the project is working to provide jobs in the knowledge sector for the transgender community and is the first time a state government is establishing such as project for the marginalised group.
This was announced by Kerela’s Minister for Social Justice, Dr. R. Bindu, who emphasised the importance of employment for members of the transgender community, who regularly face ostracism and harassment from society. With the goal of helping these employees earn a steady income that is commensurate with their educational qualifications, the Social Justice Department aims to get all members of the transgender community employed and provided with the opportunities to upskill and reskill themselves in the next three years.
Employees who are looking to enhance their skills can do so via agencies such as the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme and the Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence, which are registered on the Digital Workforce Management System (DWMS) platform. The platform acts as the key to help employees find prospective jobs according to their interests and aptitude, and helps identify select skill courses via psychometric analysis, such as grooming and finishing skills that can help with social skills to prepare employees for interviews. Other functions that the DWMS platform performs include posting available business endeavours for other transgender employees.
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Both Dr Bindu and P.S. Sreekala, Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission Director, have welcomed the plans, citing it as not just a way to push a marginalised community into the forefront as leaders and faces of a knowledge society, but also as a fitting tribute to Pride Month, which the launch coincides with, reported The Hindu.
