Of the 20 youths who were trained in hair dressing in the last fiscal year, only three have established salons. Similarly, the youths who received training in other areas have shown no entrepreneurial desires.

The Cottage and Small Industry Office had run training classes in making dalmoth, sewing, machine repair and maintenance and house wiring. “Only 10-15 percent of the youths who received training have utilized their skills to start enterprises,” said Hemanta Bahadur Singh, an officer at the Cottage and Small Industry Office. “We don’t know what the others have done after receiving training.”

Singh added that it had become a tradition for people with plenty of leisure to join training classes to kill time. “So the trainings have not been very effective in encouraging entrepreneurship. Women who have learned sewing might be using their skills at home, but there has not been enough effort to use the skills for commercial purposes,” said Singh.

In addition to the Cottage and Small Industry Office, the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT), Women Development Office, Land Reform Office and Kanchanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry have been providing various types of training to local unemployed youths. But a majority of them have not been utilizing their skills properly.

“We have been providing training to 400-500 youths annually,” said Tarka Raj Bista, chief of the CTEVT, Mahendranagar. “But half of them don’t start any enterprises.” He added that lack of capital had discouraged many youths from going into business. “There should be a programme to teach the trainees to utilize their skills for commercial purposes.”

According to Bista, the CTEVT is preparing to start monitoring the youths who have received training from them. The CTEVT has been providing trainings in the areas of wiring, plumbing, computer, sewing, beauty parlour and motorcycle maintenance, among others.  

“We have also been providing training to those who are planning to go for foreign employment so that they can earn better salaries,” said Bista. The foreign job aspirants have been provided training to be cooks, waiters, off-season vegetable farmers, mushroom farmers and salesmen. Various organizations based in Kanchanpur have been providing training to 4,000-5,000 youths every year. They said that less than 25 percent of the students have utilized their skills for commercial purposes.

“It has become necessary to adopt stringent criteria when selecting candidates for training,” said Singh. “Only those who are actually in need of training will utilize the skills they have learned for commercial purposes.” According to him, some youths join the training programme to collect the allowance given to them as some organizations provide pocket money.

Similarly, those who have received training from the Land Reform Office have not been fully utilizing their skills. This office has been providing training to become carpenters, masons and tailors, particularly to emancipated Kamaiya bonded labourers.  “The emancipated Kamaiyas have utilized the skills they have learnt better than other trainees,” said Janaki Karki, officer at Land Reform Office.