Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today exhorted the eminent industrial houses to play a vanguard role in opening skill centers to upscale the existing skills and expertise of their employees besides imparting skill training to the unemployed youth as a ‘mission mode’.Addressing a selected gathering, after giving away the certificates to the first batch of supervisors and welders who had undergone technical training in ‘Hunar’ a skill centre of Hero group in its premises, the Chief Minister said that such Industrial tycoons and entrepreneurs should come forward to establish these skill up-gradation and training centers as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). He said that it was the need of the hour that the industrial units and the state government should join hands to impart quality skill training to the unemployed youth for making them self employed on one hand and weaning them away from the drugs on the other. Mr. Badal, while lauding the Hero group for opening the center, expressed hope that this centre would act as lighthouse for the other industrial units to follow its footsteps adding that the state government would provide fulsome support and cooperation to the industrial units for such endeavors.
Pertinently on the personal persuasion of the Chief Minister, the Hero Group had set up this center, which was inaugurated by Mr. Badal last year. The Chief Minister also urged the other industrialists to replicate the same model in their industrial premises to empower the unemployed youth with upgradation and provision of new technical skills especially in cycle, textile, knitwear, small scale and machine tool to cater the need of specialized labour in local industry.In his address Chairman of the Hero Cycles, Mr. OP Munjal expressed his gratitude towards the Chief Minister for sparing his valuable time for the function. Addressing the gathering Mr. Pankaj Munjal said that the group selected its most promising workers through scientifically-designed evaluation process consisting of written test and interview to enroll them in a program that would graduate them from worker to supervisor and put them in a leadership role. He said that the Hero Cycles tied-up with Chitkara University which successfully conducted this program. Mr. Munjal said that going a step ahead Hero Cycles now plans to increase its involvement with the Punjab Government to create more such centers with much higher intake of students and a wider scope of skills.
Later on the Chief Minister accompanied by his Advisor Mr. Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal and Special Principal Secretary Mr. KJS Cheema visited the Special school for meritorious students in the city and interacted with the students. Acceding to the demand made by the students, he approved the opening of canteen cum stationary shop in the school and directed the officers to provide playground to the students. Likewise, he also visited the Drug de-addiction center at local Civil Hospital.