Dharmedra Pradhan reviews skill development initiatives in NE

GUWAHATI: Union Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, conducted a review meeting on ‘Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in North Eastern Region’ here on Friday. Representative of each NE state gave an account of ITIs, its upgradation and central schemes in the meeting.
Reviewing the state of skilling ecosystem in NE, the Union Minster opined that the states of the region should decide the sectoral areas for imparting market-relevant skill training to the local youths. He asked the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to coordinate with state and its stakeholders to understand NE’s needs and requirements. ‘Synergy is the strategy, to produce greater and meaningful effect. Potential areas like handloom, horticulture, agriculture, tourism, bamboo, poultry farming must be harnessed’, stated the union minister. ‘Honesty and hardworking are natural assets of the people of NE and Assam Government must showcase this in the upcoming Global Investors’ Summit to attract investors’, stated Pradhan.
Further, he called upon OIL, NHPC and other central PSUs to coordinate with the NE states for implementation of the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) for providing opportunities for hand-on job experience and training to the youths and suggested setting up of a Trainers’ Institute in Guwahati for North East Region. He also stressed on the need of imparting short-term skill courses for students from class 8-12. ‘It will help them acquire skill in a particular discipline with their regular courses’, the union minister added.
Assam’s Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Minister, Chandra Mohan Patowary stated that the state government aims to skill 1.5 lakhs youths every year. He also told that construction of the country’s first ever ITI for the differently-abled at Dibrugarh is going on and mentioned the plan to launch 200 new skill training centres in the state. Minister Patowary requested the Union Minister to bring the ITIs and polytechnic institutes under one umbrella for better coordination and convergence.
Th. Radheshyam Singh, Manipur Skill and Education Minister; Rajesh Agarwal, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, representatives from various sectoral skill councils were present in the review meeting.
(EoM)