New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) The Skill India programme has got commitments from industry and states for the training of 7 lakh apprentices in the current fiscal.
This was announced after the 15-day Apprenticeship Pakhwada that saw state governments commit 2.5 lakh and industry pledging to train 4.5 lakh apprentices.
The number of apprentices will have almost doubled after the 15-day Pakhwada. In 2016, the government had introduced comprehensive reforms to the Apprenticeship Act, 1961, a move that saw about 7.5 lakh apprentices engaged in a span of two-and-a-half years.
The industry has committed to engage 4.5 lakh more apprentices with states committing another 2.5 lakh apprentices. The Ministry of Skill Development has pledged Rs 560 crore to state governments to promote demand-driven and industry-linked skill development and signed 22 MoUs with various states through Third Party Aggregators (TPAs).
As many as 8 PSUs including Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL), Cochin Shipyard, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), International Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) committed to train about 35,000 apprentices. Additionally, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) signed an MoU to train solar technicians for sustainable energy sector.
Addressing the gathering at the closing ceremony, Road Transport and Highways and MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari said it was important to build skilling capabilities for both urban and rural areas.
“It is important to understand and map the demand for skilling programs in SME cluster associations in growth areas and industries, especially in the rural, agricultural and tribal areas of the country,” he said.
The MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector has enormous scope for growth and a great need of skilled manpower for sericulture, horticulture, tribal arts and paintings, honey, bamboo sectors that have great potential of becoming export strengths for the country,” Gadkari said.
Skill Development and Entrepreneurship minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said: “Apprenticeship can provide hands-on training to candidates and provide a better industry exposure to help them gain confidence in a working environment.”
–IANS
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