National Institute Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development, NIESBUD, has launched a skill training programme to train 35,000 youth by the end of this year. The programme has been initiated in the states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand. According to the official sources, it is expected that at least 25 per cent of the participants will be employed within this financial year. The institute has identified skills on the basis of market needs to ensure maximum employment. The main skills identified include housekeeping, hospitality, retail management, IT, light engineering, fashion designing, cosmetology and beautician.The participants will also be encouraged for self employment and will be provided hand holding support under the scheme of Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana. The district administration, industry and business associations, bankers and placement agencies will be closely involved with the programmes. The institute has so far trained more than 70,000 persons, including 2,000 from 125 foreign countries.