State governments and industry together have committed to train over seven lakh apprentices in the current fiscal during the 15-day Apprenticeship Pakhwada organised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “Apprenticeship can provide hands-on training to candidates and better industry exposure to help them gain confidence in a working environment. New job roles will need new skill sets and it is therefore important to inspire the youth to equip themselves with industry-relevant skill sets.” .

Assistance to States

MSDE also pledged ₹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), according to the statement issued. Eight Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) including Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) committed to train about 35,000 apprentices. Meanwhile, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) signed an MoU with the National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) Mumbai to train solar technicians for the sustainable energy sector.

MSME potential

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises said, “It is important to understand and map the demand for skilling programmes in SME cluster associations in growth areas and industries, especially in the rural, agricultural and tribal areas of the country. The MSME sector has enormous scope for growth and a great need of skilled manpower for sericulture, horticulture, tribal arts and paintings, honey and bamboo sectors that have great potential of becoming export strengths for the country.”

comment COMMENT NOW