Punjab to provide free training for youth interested in tourism career

The Punjab tourism department will provide free training and skill development to the youth in the state who are interested in a career in the tourism and hospitality industry post COVID-19.

The tourism and cultural affairs minister of the state, Charanjit Singh Channi, said that more than 2000 students would be trained under the umbrella scheme of ‘Hunar Se Rozgar Tak’. The trained students will also be assisted in job placements.

The minister said that a large number of tourism service providers in the unorganized sector require basic training and certification to provide better services standards and consumer satisfaction. Therefore, about 800 such tourism service providers will be provided training for skill testing and certification.

In another programme, 400 persons would be trained under the entrepreneurship programme of the government of India. In this programme a short-term quality training would be provided for cook, barman, baker, homestay caretaker and halwai.

The free training in the hospitality sector will be provided through the educational institutes at Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Nawanshahr and Mohali empanelled with the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board and Institutes of Hotel Management at Gurdaspur, Bathinda and Food Craft institute at Hoshiarpur.

Hussan Lal, Secretary Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department, said all these trainings would be provided free of cost to the students. He called upon the students to avail the benefits of these schemes to develop their skills and get employment. “The students would also be given stipends amounting to ₹ 1500 to ₹ 2000 after successful completion of their training,” he added.