Skill Development News Digest – 011117

International cooperation in skilling India has been in the headlines. With many countries like Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden focussing on collaborating with India to promote skill based training, we are likely to see many new initiatives in the area of vocational training and industry-integrated education. Recently, India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) aimed at expanding cooperation in the field of skill development. The future is definitely bright with lots of new prospects …here’s updating you with Skill Development News Digest – 011117.

Click here to view the latest edition of Skill Times from NSN November 2017.

News from the states

Gujarat: 1. Gujarat Refinery has launched Indian Oil Gyanodaya, a scholarship scheme as part of Indian Oil’s CSR which will benefit 500 students in Vadodara. 2. Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has signed a MoU with a German company to set up a centre of excellence that will contribute to the Swachchh Bharat Mission through means of technology and skill development.

Haryana: 1. Around 15,000 apprentices will be engaged by various departments, boards and corporations of the Haryana government by December 1 under the Centres National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS). 2.Specialty Certified Medical Assistant (SCMA), a medical certification business unit of the CertiTrek Group announced the launch of its anchor program, International Medical Assistant Certification.

Jammu and Kashmir: Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( KCCI) has highlighted the need for infrastructure development of government-run educational institutions under private-public-partnership (PPP) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

Jharkand: The Chief Minister Raghubir Das has directed the Skill Development Department to ensure 20 lakh jobs by 2022.

Karnataka: The Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi said Dharmasthala is a global model in skill development durig his recent visit.

Kerala: 1. Higher secondary students, of Nirbhaya shelter homes in Kerala, will be trained under Additional Skill Acquisition Programme to develop their skills and increase employability. 2. All women self-help group “Kudumbashree’ has opened a special academic platform to impart training for the 43 lakh members for their socio-cultural, educational and overall personality development. 3. The Skill Development Centre, functioning under the district panchayat, will offer job-oriented courses in video editing, solar technology, advanced graphic design, and computer accounting for part-time and full-time learners. 4. Food processing sector will see a great growth in the coming years with the steady inflow of investments, said Dr. T.P. Sethumadhavan, Education & Career Consultant, who recently attended World Skills Abudabi 2017.

Maharashtra: 1. eClerx and NASSCOM Foundation today announced their partnership to launch the eClerx Employability 2. The Health Ministry has rolled out training programmes to provide a platform for hospitals to understand the systems and procedures involved in adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting and related practices of pharmacovigilance.

Madhya Pradesh: Union minister for petroleum and skill development Dharmendra Pradhan said that sector of wellness (beauty and nutrition) is growing at rate of 20 percent in the country and has a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurship.

Meghalaya: AICTE has planned to increase resources for the Northeast to set up skill development centres and sponsor students to participate in programmes at national and international levels.

Nagaland: 1. India’s first Homestay Training under the PMKVY, launched by YouthNet in partnership with the Ministry of Skill Development under NSDC started on October 17 in Mokokchung. 2. A 5-day skill development workshop for women on “cooking and baking” was organised by North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) by Ministry of Culture, GOI, in collaboration with the department of Art and Culture, Government of Nagaland.

Punjab: 1. The Punjab cabinet has approved industrial power tariff of Rs 5 per unit from November 1 and also offered a chance for one-time settlement of loans as part of the new Industrial and Business Development Policy, 2017. 2. NABET is working towards providing job opportunities for the visually impaired with the help of a unique employment linked training programme in the IT sector that has resulted in a regular source of livelihood.  3. Agriculture Skill Council of India (ASCI) has signed a MoU with CSIR-CSIO to train skilled manpower in agriculture and allied areas under the PMKVY.

Tamil Nadu: The CEO Life Sciences Sector Skill Development Council (LSSSDC) said that the curriculum of pharmacy education in India should have subjects like industry based practical skills to enable students to find better employment opportunities.

Telangana: The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H) launched a programme on artificial intelligence and machine learning for technology professionals.

National and international news

• The Minister for Petroleum &Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan visited Japan as a follow up of the visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India. He also participated in the 6th Annual LNG Producers Consumer Conference.
• The top 100 NSE companies are moving beyond compliance to focus on creating long-term impact for beneficiaries of their CSR projects.
• Yamaha donated engine models to ITI Colleges in Chennai to support the infrastructure of the government institutions and to also provide students with an opportunity to get exposed to the practical training.
• India and Russia have agreed to increase cooperation in the area of skill development at the ongoing World Skills Abu Dhabi (WSAD) event in the UAE.
• Ambedkar University  launched its School of Vocational Studies (SVS), in which courses in three (B.Voc) degrees courses will be offered – Retail Management, Tourism and Hospitality; and Early Childhood Centre Management and Entrepreneurship.
• The Government has planned to formulate a national policy for domestic workers for expanding the scope of applicable legislation, policies and schemes such as minimum wages, social security and skill development programmes.
• The government has de-affiliated about 400 ITIs after conducting quality inspections and finding them to be lacking in the requisite infrastructure and trainers for imparting vocational training to students.
• Industry experts, during a meeting with officials in the Drug Controller General of India, have asked for a year’s more time for certification of all employees.
• India aims to create 100 million jobs through tourism and attract 40 million foreign tourists annually in the next five years, according to Tourism Minister Mr. K J Alphons.
• Ten oil and gas companies launched a startup programme for entrepreneurs with a fund corpus of Rs 320 crore to be disbursed over a 3-year period.
• Minister Mr. Anant Kumar Hegde said the Centre will invest Rs 6000 crore in association with the World Bank to improve the quality of the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the country.
• The educational institutes imparting technical, professional and applied science training must mould their courses to make them more relevant and useful for the industry, said the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
• Mercedes-Benz India, in collaboration with the Delhi Government, has initiated a new program in order to provide training to young candidates in the field of mechanical, electronics, informatics and other modern automation technologies.
• Shashi Tharoor explained what is wrong with India’s education system. He said India has great demographic opportunity to become work horse of the world.
• David Hoey CEO of WorldSkills International, said that India must hold skill competitions, starting at school level, and then at regional, state and national levels to realise its rich demographic dividend and boost vocational education.