The “Skills4Life” Programme, an initiative to enhance the livelihood of Elementary Service Personnel (ESP) and General Service Personnel (GSP) continues to benefit a wider mass in Dagana. To enhance the livelihoods of these personnel and the public at large, the district administration in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development organised a two-month-long basic skills training in tailoring for 35 participants.
Thinley Wangmo from Tashithang of Gesarling Gewog in Dagana was one of the participants in the two-month-long tailoring training. The 35-year-old is a single mother and lives with her parents.
Thinley mostly spends her time helping her parents with the chores on the farm.
She said that she learned tailoring before the pandemic hit and has been practising at home whenever time permits apart from the daily household chores. Thinley has set up the tailoring gears in a small hut near their house.
“It requires a lot of money to buy machines and start a tailoring shop. So, I could not start one due to budget constraints. Therefore, to keep the skills relevant, I practised with the old equipment lying at home. Hence, I have been tailoring at home thinking it would benefit villagers and that I will not forget what I had learned.”
Thinley earns a few hundred but she says that the income is not consistent. Sometimes, people do not even pay her as she does not have a proper shop.
Therefore, Thinley joined the training to upgrade her skills and in the hope of setting up a proper shop someday.
However, for people like Thinley Wangmo, meeting the required investment is a challenge.
“I have an issue with the budget required to set up a tailor shop. So, it would be beneficial if there is an aid to start a tailor shop and advanced course. It would not only benefit me but it can also provide job opportunities to others. Moreover, for people like us, such training is beneficial and encourages us to lead a sustainable life.”
While Thinley remains hopeful, she wants to continue what she has been doing at home.
Among the participants, 12 were ESP and GSP employees, five were monks and the rest were public.
“So, with this short basic course, I think the participants are very enthusiastic to try to get some advanced courses in the future. So, from the Ministry of Education and Skills Development, we are ready to support the skilling programme in all the districts and gewogs,” said Wangchuk, Programme Analyst of the Department of Workforce Planning & Skills Development.
“To be honest, there are a lot of benefits from the training. I did one earlier in tailoring cushion covers and mattresses. This time it is stitching kira, tego, wonju and kuthangs, and there are differences,” said Thinley Namgay, Caretaker of Gesarling Gewog.
“There is no way the training does not benefit them. It benefits them. As most of them are women, some are even single mothers and most of them have to depend on their husband’s earnings. So, we have been trying our best they benefit from this,” said Namgay Wangmo, a trainer from the Ministry of Education and Skills Development.
Namgay added that she has trained in several places now and continues to help her trainees by forming groups on social media.
The Skills4Life Programme was initiated in 2019 to provide ESP and GSP employees with life skills.
According to the ministry, around 8,200 individuals have been trained in the 20 districts between the eighth and the 12th Five-Year-Plan.
Devika Pradhan, Dagana
Edited by Phub Gyem
