Bringing scale and speed to the current skill ecosystem, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge), today flagged off the ‘Rozgar ki Padhai – Chalo ITI Campaign’ for the youth of Madhya Pradesh, along with the Hon’ble Chief Minister of State, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan.The campaign was launched across all districts of Madhya Pradesh launched and will be delivered in four phases commencing from today. The focus would be to make the children in schools familiar with skills ecosystem and undertake workshops and also engage government officials to visit schools promoting the value of skills and the schemes available to enrol. The campaign was launched in 25 trades for 1441 seats and 1135 trainees.Shri Rudy also jointly inaugurated the Mukhyamantri Kaushal Samvardhan Yojna and the Mukhyamantri Kaushalya Yojna – exclusively for women – on May 11. Shri Rudy also spoke about the centre sponsored scheme namely Vocational Training Improvement Project (VTIP) with World Bank assistance which would support the State Government in the up-gradation of existing 121 government ITIs into Model ITIs.Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, “In our endeavour to work in conjunction with the State to create world class ITIs in Madhya Pradesh, we have allocated a total budget of Rs. 10 Cr. (Including State share of 30%) for the development of ITIs in Bhopal. If India has been known for its IITs till now, it would now be known for its IITs as well.” “We eventually plan to extend distance learning to all ITIs in the country, which has potential to benefit around 14 lakh students, attending courses in different fields,” he further added.
This up-gradation of 400 ITIs in 34 States/UTs, apart from building its infrastructure, will also focus on enhancement of knowledge and skills of ITI instructors, strengthening facilities in 14 central institutes along with curriculum development, reforms and capacity building. These upgraded Model ITIs will be evolved as an institution showcasing best practices, efficient and high quality training delivery and sustainable and effective industry relationship.“We have also introduced bridge courses for Class Xth/XIIth equivalence program for students pursuing 2 year vocational education post Class 8th either through long term courses (ITIs) or through multiple modules of short term certifications”, said Shri Rudy.Later in the day, Shri Rudy also took a meeting with senior officials across government departments and emphasised on the need for bringing in convergence across schemes and initiatives in skill development in the State. He said, “Only a joint cohesive approach will give us the desired impact we want to see in the youth of our country. As our Prime Minister states, it is imperative that we undertake reforms to bring about the desired transformation we want to see in our society.”On the short term skill development initiatives, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) which has 25 affiliated Training Partners that are currently working in the State. They have 134 active centres covering 38 districts. NSDC also actively works to deliver on the PM’s skill development scheme for the State – the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.