In 2012 with USAID funding the Dharamsala Tibetan Career Center (DTCC) was established to increase job competitiveness and employment. Managed by the CTA Department of Home, the center provides employable skills training, career counseling and job placement services for unemployed youth, recent college graduates, and recent arrivals from Tibet. DTCC is complemented by the Department’s larger Institute for Small Trade and Learning (ISTL) in Bangalore, a center established in 2003 and that provides vocational training for unemployed youth with a focus on school dropouts unable to pursue higher education. Both centers deliver vocational skills training, career counseling and job placement services. DTCC offers skills training in professional hairdressing; a range of computer skills including web design, digital photography, Photoshop, and accounting software; and employability skills such as resume writing, job search, interview, and professional communication skills. ISTL offers skills training in cooking, hotel management, English language, basic business, and bookkeeping. DTCC also conducts career awareness workshops for youth and parents in Tibetan settlements, schools, and student hostels.
One of the major activities being funded by the USAID under the TSRR Program is the designing and development of a high quality workforce information system (WFIS) database at the main office of the Home Department in Dharamsala. The WFIS will maintain standardized information on key characteristics of the Tibetan workforce in India and Nepal including current employment status, age, gender, academic and professional qualifications and career aspirations. After baseline data is entered, settlement office staff will be trained to provide biannual reports from their respective settlements to update WFIS, and data users at the Department will be trained to generate reports and analyze WFIS data for project planning and monitoring. This information is currently unavailable and is expected to significantly improve the quality of future workforce development planning and monitoring.
The 15th Kashag has constituted a team to draft a CTA workforce development policy.