Beginning next month, the National Housing Development Corporation Ltd (NHDC) would recruit 220 unemployed youth in different fields.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to this effect between the NHDCL and the labour ministry yesterday.

The MoU is expected to contribute in the generation of employment opportunities and enhance the skills and work knowledge of jobseekers. It is also expected to professionalise the construction industry and maintain partnership between the ministry and construction industry.

NHDCL has already announced 220 vacancies in different occupations through the ministry’s direct employment scheme (DES) online system. As of yesterday, a total of 347 applicants have registered for the vacancies.

Of the 220 vacancies, eight slots such as customer care executive, accountant, civil and electrical engineer require a bachelors degree, 24 slots for the post of supervisor with diploma degrees, and 97 national certificate II holders for mason, carpenter, plumber, electrician, painter, and welder.

Another 91 would be required as apprentice in construction technology.

Programme analyst with the department of technical education Karma Dorji, said that the labour ministry would bear the cost of salaries for two years for those jobs that require national certificate, customer care executive, the accountants and the apprentices.

“For other occupations, the salary would be based on cost sharing between the ministry and corporation where 60 percent would be borne by the ministry and rest by the corporation,” he said. “However, the corporation has assured that they would provide 30 percent of the net profit they make to all the occupations.”

Karma Dorji added that the selection would be carried out jointly and after two years, the job would be regularized. The recruits would then be placed to different dzongkhags to continue the job.

A press release stated that the collaboration would support the NHDCL in establishing the home maintenance division, which would take 133 jobseekers and 87 would work for manufacturing unit.

As per the MoU, the NHDCL should provide proper mentoring and guidance to the apprentice, regularise the service after two years of attachment and if required, provide training within Bhutan or abroad among others.

Karma Dorji said the total employment cost for salary expenses per annum would be Nu 43.642M. The duration of the MoU is two years.

The MoU is a part of programme with the mandate of the ministry to promote and facilitate gainful employment through provision of effective employment services. The ministry has also collaborated with state owned enterprises (SOE) to place youth for employment through DES and Guaranteed Employment Program.

The ministry has to date employed 713 jobseekers in four different SOEs from January 2017 until March this year. The four SOEs are Farm Machinery Corporation Ltd, Bhutan Livestock Development Corporation Ltd, Food Corporation of Bhutan Ltd, and Green Bhutan Corporation Ltd.

Yangchen C Rinzin