Skill Development News Digest

In this edition of Skill Development News Digest, we have updates from the government, the states, the training providers and the industry sectors.

To begin with, Afghanistan seeks possible collaboration with India to strengthen their skill ecosystem. Under PMKVY, about 1200 inmates of Tihar prison complex will learn employable skills in various fields such as BPO, retail sales and computer hardware under the PMKVY which was launched today in the mega jail. And, India gets represented at the UK Skills Show 2015 as six girls will be showcasing their skills in Beauty Therapy (Body & Hands and Face) and Jewelry Making among a gathering of 75000 people who will be attending country’s largest skills and career event.

Government and NSDC initiatives

NSQF to be made mandatory after 3 years: Without compliance there will not be any funding
for the government institutions imparting education and training programmes
Government approves creation of sector mentor committees to act as integrated panels for creating model curricula for skill training courses. This is a significant effort to create a unified system for development of curricula and courses for skill development training in the country.
Govt clears project to skill 5 mn Indians with WB support worth USD 1 billion: Skill Training for Employability Leveraging Public Private Partnership (STEPPP) project was cleared by the Department of Economic Affairs, MSDE. It will also strengthen the skill training infrastructure in underserved geographies and sectors
NSDC is gearing up to focus on vocational training for paramedical requirement particularly in segments including emergency ambulatory services, X-ray, Echo, tread mill test (TMT) along with a pool of technicians for blood banks, laboratories, anaesthesia, cardiac and dialysis.
Centre to map country’s training infrastructure, including thousands of private training institutes that are thriving but do not reflect in the official data.
From the states
Skill development continues to be the focus for Chhattisgarh that started the first livelihood college in Dantewada in 2010. Now, these livelihood colleges are functioning in 27 districts. As a part of the scheme the vocational training providers train people in trades like electricians, fitters, machine operators, air conditioning technicians, security guards and horticulturists.
In Kerala, KASE, Kerala Academy for Skill Excellence (KASE) is readying a database of the global job market to benchmark standards and enable it raise the skill sets of its youth to international levels.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/kerala-youths-skill-sets-to-get-quantum-boost-115111700887_1.html
The Andhra Pradesh government proposes to establish a Skill Development University. It will house centres of excellence, manufacturing as well as an R&D set-up along with entrepreneurship and incubation facilities, a driver-training institute, an integrated school and a consortium of industry bodies.
Andhra Pradesh ranks first among all states with largest employability level, according to India Skill Report. AP has the highest employability level with 65.2 pc of employable workforce in the 22-25 years age group, a considerable increase from 31% posted in 2015.
Proposal for Rs 10k as min wage for 23 sectors in Karnataka: The revision will benefit about 30 lakh non-skilled labourers in the State.
Focus on skill development to utilise youth power in J&K: The chief minister reiterates the need to focus on skill development and entrepreneurship, to create jobs and harness talent.
Skill training to unemployed youths in Arunachal Pradesh: In a first of its kind initiative, Tata Motors collaborated Automobile Workshop and Mechanic trade under Industrial Training Institute, Dirang in West Kameng district for skill development training to the unemployed youths of the state.

Training provider and industry updates from hospitality, tea plantations, poultry and welding

Aspiring Minds widens vocational skill certification network with another 250+ centres across India
The company today announced adding over 250 assessment centres pan India in partnership with Don Bosco Tech Society. These assessment centres spread across 27 States shall be used by Aspiring Minds and its partners for delivering various skill based assessments and certifications.
Teamlease services ties-up with Maharashtra for vocational training: In the initial phase, TeamLease will provide certificate courses for Store Operations Assistant, Cashier, Trainee Sales Associate and Sale Associate across 56 schools in the state.
TeamLease Skill University signs MoU with government to promote apprenticeship in the country
This will be done through its program -National Employability through Apprentice Program (NETAP) NETAP is proposed to facilitate the engagement of 5 lakh apprentices and expand the NETAP scheme to include over 2,000 new employers over the next three years.
This is an update from Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) about how they are gearing up for Skill India program to
Siemens, TUV Rheinland set up skill centre in Mumbai: The Centre has been specifically designed by them to provide practical training on the latest safety equipment and techniques
NALCO signs MoU with NSDC to partner in skilling youth and women: NALCO contributes
5% of its CSR funds in the current year. The programmes undertaken under this agreement will be aligned to the NSQF, an outcome-driven standards system that organises qualifications according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude.
Skill gap is a big issue in Poultry Sector: They technical, diploma and certificate holders to work as farm supervisors. With a minimum expected growth rate of 10 per cent per annum in the sector, poultry sector alone needs 708 and 1,140 veterinary graduates in 2015 and 2020, respectively.
BCIHMCT to impart skill training under HSRT programme under the Hunar Se Rozgar Tak – Badhte Kadam, a Training Programme launched by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. This includes courses in Food & Beverage Service, Housekeeping Utility, Food Production and Bakery and Patisserie.
OYO Rooms to partner Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC) to train and certify hospitality staff across the country.
Primero Skills completes tea plantation training for 276 unskilled hands in North Bengal and Assam under PMKVY. The trained staff will be absorbed by Jardine Handerson Ltd. The firm has set up five training centres in Assam and three in West Bengal for tea plantation work alone.
Ador Welding Academy joins NSDC to train over 14,000: The company’s promoters have proposed to invest an undisclosed amount in it over three years in the academy. So far, the academy has trained more than 1,100 welders.