The Labour Ministry has started revamping some ‘outdated’ courses and introducing new ones at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
“Some courses, such as secretarial practice, are no longer relevant. So, we have removed these and are introducing new ones,” said a senior Ministry official.
He said the focus is not on mere skilling, but employability, too, which is why some course are being revised to tailor to industry requirements.
The Ministry has involved the industry and experts in re-designing the courses.
For instance, nutritionist Shikha Sharma is heading the group on nutrition and health. Designer Anju Modi is involved in the fashion design course, hair stylist Jawed Habib and Vandana Luthra’s VLCC in the hair-styling and beautician courses, and Taj Spa, Ananda Spa and Kairali in the course for spa training.
The Labour Ministry also plans to invite bids soon to set up 1,500 ITIs this fiscal through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
According to the official, these will mainly be in the country’s ‘unserviced’ regions.
Apart from the North-East, the Ministry has identified areas in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh for these ITIs.
The proposed ITIs will follow the PPP school model proposed by the Human Resource Development Ministry, wherein State governments identify and facilitate land on lease at very low rates, and the private participants take up responsibility to build and manage the institutes with grants from the Centre.
In case the private partner acquires and owns the land, no capital aid is given, the official said.
Bids will also be invited for 52 Advanced Training Institutes (ATIs) that will train instructors for the proposed ITIs. “Of these, 20 ATIs are planned exclusively for women,” the official said.
The unserviced blocks have already been identified with the help of State governments and the matter will soon be moved for Cabinet approval, the official said.
Of the new ITIs proposed, 476 are in Uttar Pradesh, 160 in West Bengal, 131 in Odisha, 110 in Madhya Pradesh and 105 in Bihar.
At present, there over 7,500 ITIs run by the private sector and 2,200 run by the Government.
With ITIs now being set up in PPP mode, it remains to be seen whether the Government will be able to strike a balance between the growing job needs of weaker sections and the industry’s requirement of an ‘employable’ workforce.