A Rural Self-Employment Training Institute giving rural youth one to six week courses, with food and lodging covered.
Kathua disburses ₹44,468 in small business loans per lakh population. The district trains 619.7 youth per lakh under short-term skilling, better than the typical district. The Rural Self Employment Training Institute prepares rural youth to use credit like this to start their own enterprise.
84% of registered enterprises are in services while 16% are in manufacturing. Only 4% of employment is in small and medium enterprises. 70% of school-age children are enrolled in higher secondary school (classes 9–12).
In Kathua, which ranks 7 of 20 in Jammu and Kashmir for youth opportunity, the overall opportunity score is 53.1 out of 100. It runs ahead of the national picture on self-employed workers at 48.7%. On skilling trainees who get certified at 96.5%, women-owned enterprises at 25% and young people in the labour force aged 15 to 29 at 50%, it sits close to the national mark.