Migration centre in DK faces staff shortages, functioning reduced

Mangaluru: The International Migration Centre – Karnataka (IMC – K), which was established by the state govt to help youths find jobs abroad without the intervention of agents or paying hefty commissions, has almost stopped functioning in Dakshina Kannada.
Established four years ago, it has been able to provide over 200 youths with white-collar and blue-collar jobs abroad, including in European Union countries. A total of eight such centres were opened in the state.
IMC-K is an initiative of the department of skill development and entrepreneurship and livelihood (SDEL). According to job seekers, the office situated in Urwa has no councillor who can help them with the provision of information and process their applications. One source, aware of the development, said that the centre is near shutdown as the govt did not release funds for its functioning. Secondly, the centre here was not well-equipped and lacked facilities to provide necessary training. Therefore, training was conducted at the Bengaluru office. The consultants at the Mangaluru office were only providing primary information to the aspirants.
Pradeep D'Souza, the district skill development officer, said that it is true that the post of councillor, who is the key person to run the IMC-K, has been vacant for quite some time now. There are efforts to fill it at the earliest, he said. Meanwhile, the number of job opportunities abroad also reduced in the last one year. "So far, we have sent a lot of youths abroad to work as nurses, drivers, engineers, and others. They were successfully onboarded by the companies and are doing well till date. The centre keeps away agents, there is no commission issue, and all procedures are transparent. Lastly, all candidates are directly recruited by the companies," he said, adding that the centre provides authentic information, guidance, training, and recruitment for overseas employment. The centre also benefited job aspirants from Udupi district.
D'Souza also added that there are plans to establish well-equipped regional centres in several places, including Mangaluru, following the model of the Bengaluru centre. Once upgraded, training and counselling will be available in Mangaluru itself, eliminating the need to travel to Bengaluru. "Under any circumstances, the centre here will not be shut," D'Souza stressed.