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By Manas Dasgupta*
Surat: Amidst the dark cloud of Corona pandemic, the lives of at least 600 jobless youths have been brightened, thanks to an online job fair organized by the Surat-based Bhagwan Mahavir Education Foundation.
The Foundation which also runs the Bhagwan Mahavir University in the diamond city of Surat in south Gujarat, had like many other institutions organized traditional job fairs in the university campus in the last two years, but this year Corona and the government’s consequent restrictions on all gatherings had made it difficult for it to come to the aid of its jobless youths.
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Then an idea struck the trustees of the foundation, like many other online activities being carried out during the lockdown, why not an online job fair?
According to the managing trustee of the Foundation, Anil Jain, the idea received overwhelming response and the job fair was on and instead of the limited campus interview the gamut was expanded to include any company looking for promising youths and the needy job- seekers from across the country. “We had communicated our plans to both the central and the Gujarat governments and received the go-ahead for the online job fair,” Jain said.
Teams of the Foundation contacted many companies and about 300 companies agreed to join showing vacancies for about 4,000 different posts. The Foundation then issued online communications through various portals for the needy youths to respond and received about 6,400 registrations from all over the country.
On the appointed days, the registered youths were made to appear for virtual face-to-face online interviews which were conducted like the traditional job fairs. “At least 600 job-seekers have already been issued appointment letters by different companies and another about 1,500 already shortlisted and will soon get their appointment letters. The process is still on and other vacancies are also expected to be filled by the online job air,” Jain said.
One of the successful youths beaming with joy said he had been looking for jobs for a long time but without any success. “This time too I thought I will not succeed but both me and my family members jumped in joy as I received the appointment letter through e-mail as an assistant production supervisor in a reputed company the same evening I appeared for the interview.”
Jain said the Foundation was happy for the success of the online job fair which clicked only because Corona did not allow traditional gatherings. The chief minister Vijay Rupani, the union minister Nitin Gadkari, and many other central and state ministers had issued video messages wishing success of the online job fair.
*The writer is a senior journalist
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