Employment exchanges lose relevance

Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 23

The employment exchanges being run by the state Department of Employment Generation and Training seem to have lost their relevance as only 4,977 posts have been notified through the department in the past seven years.

This is despite the fact that according to the provision of the Compulsory Notification of Vacancy Act, 1959, all establishments — where the employment base is more than 25 — have to notify new openings through such exchanges, apart from advertising new vacancies through other channels. Although the department has forwarded names of the eligible candidates against 4,977 posts, it doesn’t have data on how many of candidates got jobs against the posts notified through the department.

The department revealed this in a reply to an RTI query filed by Nangal-based advocate Paramjit Singh Pamma.

Director KJS Cheema could not be contacted. Joint Director Malkit Singh said, “There was a ruling by the apex court according to which establishments were allowed to advertise their posts both through employment exchanges as well as other media of communication. Ever since, the trend of notifying posts through the department is on the decline.”