The Social Justice Department has joined hands with the Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission to ensure financial security generated by employment to all transgender persons in the State, Minister for Social Justice R. Bindu has said.
She was speaking at the inauguration of Pride, a special project to provide employment in the knowledge sector for the transgender community, here on Tuesday.
Dr. Bindu said employment was a source of confidence for all. Its importance was all the more for the transgender community. Transgender persons faced a lot of ostracism and harassment in society. Against such a backdrop, a job that provided them a steady income would be of huge support.
The department, she said, intended to help all transgender persons get jobs commensurate with their educational qualifications in the next three years.
To address their skill gap, transgender persons should be able to enhance their skills through agencies such as Additional Skill Acquisition Programme and Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence. The industry should also develop an attitude of inclusivity so that the transgender persons did not remain marginalised. Once they landed a job that provided them a good income, their social status would also undergo a transformation.
The Minister said Pride was a special project being launched to provide a platform for transgender persons for skill enhancement and interaction with the industry. Pride would provide training to help transgender persons improve their personality, face interviews with confidence, visit industry, do internships, and so on. Transgender persons should make full use of these opportunities, Dr. Bindu said.
The skill enhancement agencies that were registered on the Digital Workforce Management System (DWMS) platform would help transgender persons find jobs according to their interests and aptitude. A psychometric analysis to know one’s interests and accordingly select skill courses was available on the platform. They would also be provided with grooming and finishing skills to prepare them for interviews. Once they acquired skills needed by the industry, they would find increased acceptance from employers.
The DWMS platform also made available entrepreneurial opportunities so that one could become a job provider. A transgender person starting an enterprise could provide employment to a number of other transgender persons. They should be able to use their talents and skills for the uplift of society, she said.
With the government committed to creating a Kerala based on equality, not only the forward sections but also the marginalised should be able to become the faces and leaders of a knowledge society, Dr. Bindu said.
Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission Director P.S. Sreekala said it was very satisfying that the Pride project was being launched this month, celebrated the world over as Pride Month, Moreover, this was the first time that a State government was rolling out an employment project for the transgender community.
Social Justice Director Chetan Kumar Meena was present.
