The Kerala Government is setting up a skill development platform for engineering students with a view to upgrading and building on their skillsets and enhance employability.

An estimated 40,000 students from 150 colleges are expected to benefit, according to an official spokesman.

Creating database

The sill development platform seeks to create a database of two lakh specially skilled engineering hands in the State over a period of two years, he told BusinessLine.

The scheme is sought to be implemented on ground by linking engineering colleges with the IT parks at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and elsewhere in the State.

At least one crore sq ft of space would be added to Technopark-Thiruvananthapuram and Infopark-Kochi and and other parks creating the incremental two lakh job opportunities.

High-tech classrooms will be set up in the engineering colleges. 'Live' classes will be conducted here by linking up them with the IT parks using Kerala State Wide Area Network (K-SWAN).

Professional expertise

The State Government proposes to draw on the experience of professionals available in-house for the programme.

The databank of students, who pass out of the programme, thus would in future be made available to recruiters. These students would be given certificates to prove their credentials.

As of now, an estimated 20 per cent of the students get selected through campus recruitments. The skill development platform is expected to raise this percentage significantly, the spokesman said.

The main sponsor of the programme is Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd. Also involved are the Kerala State IT Mission, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, and the ICT Academy, the spokesman added.

Related Topics